ABOUT USWatch on PBS. See more fromNeed to Know is the PBS TV- and web- newsmagazine that gives you what you need to know — along with a healthy dose of insight, perspective and wit. Need to Know cuts through the noise of nonstop news to bring you the most compelling stories of the week and of our times.Less noise. Every Friday night nationwide and all week long on the Web.Can you tell me more?The TV program is a true newsmagazine with a variety of taped field segments and in-studio guests. The program is recorded at WNET.ORG’s studio at Lincoln Center in New York City.Who is Need to Know?Need to Know is brought to you by a lively group of award-winning web and TV producers, writers, correspondents, contributors, filmmakers, humorists and bloggers. Some are on staff, others freelance or on staff at other organizations but contributing to us.For a quick peek at the sparkling personalities of the Need to Know staff, check out their.When can I watch Need to Know on TV?Need to Know is broadcast during primetime on Fridays nationwide, with repeats over the weekend in some markets. Check local listings.
But having a 4K TV is only half the battle. You’ll need a device that lets you watch 4K Roku channels and 4K movies without re-upping your collection of Blu-Rays. Of all the streaming devices, Roku supports the most 4K video options. Here’s everything you need to know to get started with Roku 4K. But if you want to stream to your TV, you may need a dedicated streaming device. (However, there are certain situations where you may not need a separate streaming device, and I’ll talk about those below.) Some of the popular options for streaming devices are Apple TV, Roku, Chromecast, and Amazon Fire TV.
This TV buying guide breaks down the difference between, LED,. The world of TVs is looking better every day, but also more confusing.Today, there's a ridiculously wide array of high-definition (HD) and 4K Ultra HD sets in stores, from to the high-end displays that distinguish the available. We’re here with our TV buying guide to help you decide. Skip the rest: Get the we've reviewed. Ready to ditch cable? Here's how to.
Mirrors edge 2d hacked. 4 reasons they're notIf you need more help, we also have a guide to, to help narrow down your options. And get an early look at the new TVs coming this year with our guide to all the new models announced for 2020. We've got guides for every major make and model, so check out what's coming soon from,. TV buying guide quick tipsIf you’re in a hurry, here are the most important things to consider before you buy a television. We explain each of these points in greater detail in our TV buying guide below:. Don’t buy a TV with less than. Avoid full HD or 1080p sets.
You can (for now). 8K TVs are super expensive, and 8K movies and shows aren't available yet. Expect to pay about $500 for a good 55-inch 4K TV. And at least $900 for a 65-inch model. Don't buy a TV with less than a 120 Hz refresh rate.
This is important for smooth motion. Look for an: This offers more realistic colors and better contrast. than most LCD sets: But QLED TVs from Samsung, Vizio and TCL are an affordable middle ground. Look for at least four HDMI ports. And opt for the newer format if you can.
Plan to buy a. TV speakers are worse nowadays because the screens are thinner. Avoid extended warranties. Your credit card company may already provide purchase protection.
Screen size: Finding the sweet spotWhether you're looking for a basic or high-performance TV, the biggest factor in your decision will probably be screen size. Consider how many people in your family typically watch at once and where you're going to put your new set.
Then pick the largest screen size that will fit comfortably into that space — and your budget. The sweet spot today, considering price, performance and the typical living room, is between 55 and 65 inches.Screen size also depends on how close you sit to the TV. Basically, if you can see the individual pixels of the screen, you're too close. A good rule of thumb is that you should sit at a distance from the TV that is three times more than the height of the screen for HD and just 1.5 times the screen height for 4K Ultra HD. In other words, you can sit twice as close to a 4K UHD TV.Here's a more based on the dimensions of your room, as well as the resolution of the TV.No TV buying guide, no matter how detailed, can replace your own experience and judgement.
If you have the opportunity, go to a store (and maybe bring your family) and look at the TVs. Even though 4K content is less common than 1080p, you may want that higher-resolution technology if you plan to sit close to a very large screen.Bottom Line: Choose a screen size and resolution appropriate for the distance you will sit from the screen. We’d start at 55 inches, unless you're in a small apartment or dorm.MORE: Screen resolution: 8K, 4K or HD?Resolution describes the number of pixels that make up the picture on a display, described in terms of horizontal rows and vertical columns.
More pixels translate into sharper picture and finer details, so higher resolution is (almost always) better.No TV buying guide would be complete without a discussion of resolution. For many years, the 1920 x 1080 resolution, also called full HD, has been the standard, and is still the most common resolution in TVs across globe. However, TV manufacturers are rapidly shifting to Ultra HD sets (also called 4K). These 4K models have four times the number of pixels as current HDTV screens.
We’re talking 2,160 horizontal lines, or 3840 x 2160 pixels.The biggest benefit of 4K TVs is that small objects on the screen have more detail, including sharper text. Overall, images appear richer and more life-like than on an HDTV, but the benefits can be subtle. The sharper picture also has the added benefit of letting you comfortably view the screen from a shorter distance, making larger TVs more comfortable to view in a regular-sized home.Ultra HD video looks great, and it's getting easier to find. Several streaming services, like Netflix, Amazon Video and even YouTube have started offering 4K content, making smart TVs and streaming sticks your best bet for easily finding 4K movies and shows. While ultra HD Blu-ray discs are becoming more common, they're still less common than standard 1080p. Live TV hasn't fully embraced 4K yet, but DirectTV, Dish Network and Comcast Xfinity have all started offering 4K movies.
Although Ultra HD sets can upscale existing HD content, the results can be mixed and do not look as sharp as original 4K programming.You might start getting 4K TV over the air in 2020. The new (also called NextGen TV) will be rolling out to several cities across the United States in the next 12 months, bringing the potential for better signal, better picture, and smarter features with Internet connectivity.The has come to market, with arriving first, and now. And you can expect several. These displays quadruple the resolution seen on 4K sets, offering a giant leap forward in picture quality, but finding content to full take advantage of that higher resolution is extremely limited. It'll be at least a year or two before 8K sets are recommended for anyone but the earliest of adopters, so we recommend sticking to 4K.Bottom Line: Ultra HD resolution, also called 4K, is increasingly becoming the standard, and it's a better choice if you want to future-proof your investment.
You can already buy higher resolution 8K TVs, but we suggest holding off.MORE:HDR: Get it if you want the most colorsis a new feature of 4K Ultra HD sets and it stands for high dynamic range, a reference to its ability to deliver more colors, more contrast levels and increased brightness. HDR is essentially an upgrade of the 4K, or Ultra HD, format (it is not applicable to 1080p HD sets). For this new feature, TV makers are christening new monikers for the sets to distinguish them from standard 4K Ultra HD TVs.The basic standard for high-dynamic range content is called HDR10, as set forth by the UHD Alliance, an industry trade group. Dozens of companies are supporting this basic minimum specification for HDR compatibility, so you will see 'HDR10' or 'Ultra HD Premium' on a growing number of sets this year.is a more demanding version of HDR, created and licensed by the folks that brought us Dolby noise reduction and surround sound.
In theory, a Dolby Vision set has to meet a stricter set of criteria to display HDR content, and our testing seems to bear this out. So far, Dolby Vision has led the industry in terms of proprietary HDR formats.There continues to be some HDR confusion.
Every HDR-enabled set on the market is currently HDR10-compatible, but Dolby Vision is only found on sets that both meet Dolby's technical standards and pay licensing fees for the standard. Nonetheless, Dolby Vision has quickly become the industry standard for HDR content, and can be found on premium models from most brands (including LG, Sony, TCL and Vizio).Samsung has introduced it's own premium HDR format, called HDR10+, for all of its smart TVs.
(Yes, Samsung's naming makes things very confusing.) While the HDR10+ format offers a great viewing experience, it's far less common than Dolby Vision, with HDR10+ content offered on Amazon Prime Video and a handful of UHD Blu-rays. Even more troublesome, many UHD Blu-ray players don't support HDR10+ at all, so your options are even more limited if you want to go all in on Samsung's proprietary HDR format. You'll still be able to enjoy the more basic HDR10 format through any HDR-capable player or TV, but HDR10+Both Technicolor and IMAX have also brought their own proprietary standards to the market, called Technicolor Advanced HDR and IMAX Enhanced, respectively.
It's still far too soon to know if either of these newer formats will have much impact on the market.There’s not much HDR programming available, but it’s starting to look a bit better. There are a few dozen movies in the new 4K Blu-ray disc format, with a growing number of HDR shows available via streaming services, like Amazon Prime and Netflix.
Some new 4K Blu-ray players also promise to be upgradable to handle the new HDR discs, but check before you buy. Finally, cable and satellite have their own form of HDR, called Hybrid-Log Gamma (HLG), so you should start seeing HDR pop up now and then for movies and even live TV.Bottom Line: Don't choose a set just for its HDR support because the standard has not yet been settled. However, if you want the best, buy an HDR set that is compatible with Dolby Vision, as that format seems to be gaining momentum.MORE: Refresh rate: Faster is betterThe refresh rate, expressed in Hertz (Hz) describes how many times per second a picture is refreshed on the screen. The standard refresh rate is 60 times per second, or 60 Hz.
However, in scenes with rapidly moving objects, a 60 Hz refresh rate can make things look blurry or jittery, particularly on LCD HDTVs. So, to create a more solid picture, manufacturers doubled the refresh rate to 120 Hz (and in some cases up to 240 Hz).Since there aren't that many per-second images in original video content, TVs handle the faster refresh rates in different ways.
One method is to simply insert black images between the original pictures, tricking the viewer's eyes into seeing a less blurry, more solid picture. Another technique is to generate and insert new images — showing a state of movement in between the two adjacent pictures — to display more realistic-looking motion. However, depending on how the video-processing is done, it can make a movie or sitcom look flat, or as if it were a poorly lit, old-time soap opera.Some new models are boasting High-Frame Rate (HFR) support, which means that they have both a higher refresh rate and added support for content with higher than 60 Hz frame rates. With HFR content set to come from both movies and live broadcats, and HFR will be especially good for live sports, so it's definitely a feature to watch out for.Gamers will be especially keen to get higher refresh rates, but if you're using a gaming console, 60 Hz is the sweet spot.
Most gaming consoles top out at 60 frames per second, and even the offer the best performance well below the 120 Hz we suggest for other content.A word of caution: beware of terms like 'effective refresh rate,' which means the actual frame rate is half the stated rate (e.g., a '120 Hz effective refresh rate' is actually a 60 Hz refresh rate).Bottom line: Gamers will get a lot from a 60Hz TV, but most TV shoppers shouldn't buy a TV with less than a 120 Hz refresh rate. HDMI and connections: Go for moreIt may seem like an afterthought, but pay attention to the number of HDMI inputs a set has. Manufacturers looking to shave costs may offer fewer HDMI plugs on the back. These ports can get used up quickly: Add a sound bar, a Roku or Chromecast and a game console, and you've used three ports already.If you have decided to take the plunge and get a 4K Ultra HD, make sure the set's ports support HDMI 2.0 to accommodate future Ultra HD sources. Many TVs on the market have only one port that supports the 4K copy-protection scheme known as HDCP 2.2 (high-bandwidth digital content protection).The newer format has in recent months, and while the biggest benefits of the new standard will be seen in delivering, there are still plenty of goodies coming to 4K sets. The biggest improvement is variable refresh rate (VRR) support, which introduces the same sort of frame rate matching seen in Nvidia's G-Sync and AMD's FreeSync technologies. By matching the TV refresh rate to the frame rates of you content source – in this case the graphics card inside your game console or PC – you'll get smoother action and zero screen tearing.
It also adds higher frame rates for 4K video and richer that will allow adjustments at the scene level for more-precise backlighting control.As of now, we've seen HDMI 2.1 capability popping up on a few models, such as the, which uses the faster standard for all four of its HDMI ports. And HDMI 2.1 will be appearing on more TVs this year as the new 2020 models come out this spring. Check out what's coming soon from,. Keep an eye on this TV buying guide to understand how HDMI 2.1 can benefit you and whether it's worth holding out for in the coming year.Bottom Line: Look for at least four HDMI ports; and opt for the newer format if you can.
TV types and jargon explained: LCD, LED LCD, OLEDAside from projection sets, there are basically only two types of TVs on the market: LCD and OLED. Unless you have a lot of disposable income, you'll probably be buying an LCD TV.LED and LCD SetsThe lion's share of televisions today are LED LCD. These HD and Ultra HD sets use light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to illuminate the LCD screen and can be extremely thin. Many of these TVs can dynamically light up specific portions of the screen and dim other parts to better represent a mix of light and dark areas in a scene — a feature known as active dimming or local dimming. No-frills LED LCD sets can be had for as little as $200 for a 32-inch screen, while a top-of-the-line 90-inch model can go for $8,000.Most LCD sets use LEDs on the edge of the screen. The better of these models support active dimming, but it takes some digital sorcery to do this by merely manipulating lights along the edge.Full-array LED sets have light-emitting diodes directly behind the screen, in a grid of 'zones' that can be lit up or darkened individually.
Such an arrangement makes the backlight more precise and allows a more-detailed picture regarding contrast. Full-array backlighting was once reserved for top-tier models, but with more Ultra HD sets appearing at lower prices, this feature is becoming more common on modestly priced sets.Another LCD technology, called quantum dots, is becoming more common, spurred on by the requirements of HDR to produce a wider array of colors and more brightness. An LCD that uses quantum dots basically has another layer, or added “rail,” of different size nanocrystal dots that light up when the LED backlight hits them.
The result is a wider color spectrum and increased brightness.Be aware that some brands offer confusing labels. The biggest offender is the name 'QLED', featured prominently on Samsung's premium sets. These are quantum-dot LCD TVs with LED backlighting — not to be mistaken for OLED. And while quantum dot displays still can't match the true black levels of OLED, the gap is narrowing as manufacturers work to improve the technology.
If you're buying a TV today, this advice is OK, but it's still got you spending a lot more than you need to spend. Here's a bit more sensible advice.1) You won't really find any TV in 720p that you'd be putting in a living room. Most 720p sets are 32 inches or less, making them bedroom or kitchen TVs. There's nothing wrong with 720p on smaller sets, because your eyes can't tell the difference between 720p and 1080p at those small sizes. A larger 720p set (if you can find one.) really isn't that bad, either. Most cable channels still broadcast in 720p, and 720p is still better for high-motion events like sports.2) 120 Hz refresh rate is great and all, but, as I mentioned, most sports today is still broadcast in 720p at 60Hz.
So your 1080p TV with a 60-Hz refresh rate will probably be fine. Unless you're a gamer and have a huge TV, you probably won't have any problem with a 1080p set at 60Hz. But 120 Hz is fast becoming standard, so it can't hurt to pick that up.3) Don't consider a 4K/UHD TV. There's virtually no content available, and unless you either 1) sit REALLY close, or 2) have a HUGE TV, you won't notice the difference. In order to tell the difference between 1080p and 4K/UHD on a 60 inch TV, you have to sit about 5 feet away or closer from your set.
I can guarantee you you're not going to sit that close, and you probably don't have a TV that big anyways. Five years from now you can buy that 4K TV, and in the meantime you can spend a fraction on a 1080p set that will be perfectly adequate for the next few years at least.4) OLED is really nice to look at, but you're wasting your money at this point. Unless you really want one and can afford it, it's generally more expensive than it is necessary.5) Pay no attention to Color Gamut and Contrast Ratio info. If you don;t know what it is already, you really don't need to know.6) 4 HDMI ports usually come on large, expensive sets. Chances are you'll only need 2, maybe 3.
Unless you have a lot of game consoles (like I do), 2-3 ports is just fine. Plus, if you run out, you can get great external HDMI switchers for cheap on Amazon. Add an external device for $10, or pay $100 more for that extra port built in? I know which one I'd choose.7) Curved TVs are just stupid.
They reduce your range of viewing, do absolutely nothing for image quality, and just costs more. Don't waster your money.8) Don't waste your money on a 'Smart TV'. You end up spending a few hundred extra over non-smart TV when you can add, say, a Roku 3 for $70 externally. Also, because there is no one standard smart TV operating system, most smart TV operating systems are abandoned quickly, meaning you'll get very few apps, little support, and a device that's effectively obsolete in 2 years. Better to replace your cheap streaming stick (like a $35 Chromecast) every couple of years than the whole TV.9) You don't need a soundbar.
They're a mark-up item, nothing more. Yes, some of the cheapest TVs have terrible speakers. But most average TVs sound perfectly fine on their own.
If you have a huge room, just invest in a surround sound system and skip the soundbar entirely.10) Never buy the warranties. You'll never use it.In short, most people will be just fine with your standard, run-of-the-mill 1080p 60Hz TV. While your specific needs may dictate whether or not you need things, like a higher refresh rate (gaming), a basic TV will suit your needs.
And, you can add things like a Roku or an external HDMI switch for far less than it would cost you to simply buy a smart TV or adding one extra HDMI port. As I read the main article I had my own ideas on each issue. Those ideas were presented by the previous poster almost to a tee. That's the advice to follow. My only disagreement is with the addition of a soundbar.
While it is true most sets sound pretty good, add a soundbar and you will never go back. You just can't get deep bass from a TV.
Great for small rooms. My advice is to buy a highly rated, less than $200 bar with an external subwoofer. My $1200 bar sounds the same as my sister's $160 bar. Buy a cheapo, A-B the sound with the TV and I'll bet you don't send it back. Regarding extended warranties, I usually agree they are money making deals for the store more than helpful for the consumer, however I found myself in a situation where it made some sense. I made a 4k TV purchase with a 'store credit card because they offered 2 years interest free, and calculated that for only $6 / month more for the 24 months I can have extra peace of mind in case something unexpected happens beyond the manufacturers warranty. Its rare, TVs are made pretty well, but the more tech these TVs have, the more things that can go wrong.