Which TV is better to buy - 4K or FullHD

Due to the abundance of offers on the Smart TV market, the question of choosing equipment among 4K and FullHD is being asked more and more often. Even 2-3 years ago, the run-up in price was quite large - 50-100%. But due to the demand for 4K TVs, the cost has decreased significantly after dozens of brands entered the market. And the difference in price is no longer so visible - 15-30%. Therefore, there are more questions - which TV is better to buy - 4K or FullHD.

 

We exclude marketing - we look at the technical characteristics

The point is that all manufacturers are interested in selling more expensive goods. And inexpensive solutions are aimed at the budget segment. You can't just close it, because there is always a buyer with limited finances. So he will buy that inexpensive, but such a beautiful TV. Therefore, in all price segments, we are offered several solutions at once in order to facilitate the search on a budget.

 

4K TV or FullHD - which is better

 

It is better when the TV reproduces real colors. And it doesn't matter what resolution it has. After all, the buyer's interest is to get a decent picture quality on the screen. Resolution is a secondary criterion here, which depends on several factors at once:

 

• Diagonal size. 4K is 4096x3072 dots per square inch. This is the standard. And TVs have a resolution of 1 × 3840. FullHD is 2160-1920 dots per square inch. And for TVs with a large diagonal (from 1080 to 55 inches), the pixels on the FullHD matrix will be larger than on the 80K matrix. That is, there is no point in buying a 4K TV with a resolution of less than 4 inches. This is money down the drain.

• TV processor performance. All manufacturers, promoting their technology, keep silent that the built-in decoder is not always ready to process a 4K signal correctly. To obtain a high-quality picture, a media player (TV-BOX) is required. And in FullHD, everything works great on any TV.
• The ability of the matrix to operate with color shades. On cheap panels, even in 4K resolution, the user will not see the desired quality. And on expensive displays, the FullHD format can produce more realistic images.
• Content. Naturally, a 4K TV needs an appropriate source. Again, this is a media player or YouTube video. Most of the films and videos (and this is more than 90%) are in HD or FullHD. If the user is not going to buy Blue-Ray discs or download movies to 4K, then it makes sense to overpay for this functionality.

 

Which TV is better to buy - 4K or FullHD

 

So, we decided on the marketing tricks. Now is the time to touch on the important and very useful technologies that will provide the user with the quality of video transmission.

 

• HDR 10 (High Dynamic Range) is a video display with high color depth. That is to say, an increased range of colors, which was conceived by the filmmaker. 10 bits gives us 1 billion shades. And 8 bits gives us 16 million shades. It is very important, for realism, to buy a TV with HDR In the budget segment, under the HDR 10 marking, we are 100% provided with 8 + 2FRC. These 2 FRCs are a kind of deception, which out of 16 million shades performs anti-aliasing between pixels.
• LED and QLED (OLED). TVs with QLED matrix show a more realistic picture. But they also cost 1.5-2 times more. Quantum dot technology allows you to transfer shades the way the author of the video intended. And LED is a software signal processing with adjustment to the desired quality.

At the stage of choosing between price and quality, no compromise can be found. Either quality, but expensive, or an adequate price, but at the expense of high-quality color reproduction. And you need to decide for yourself before going to the store.

 

How to choose a TV in a store - a beginner's guide

 

We decided to buy a TV with a large diagonal and cheaper - take any with a size of up to 60 inches FullHD. Better look at the brand. For example, Samsung, LG or Philips will last 10 years and will delight you with a colorful image. Regardless of technology. Products from Chinese manufacturers (KIVI and Xiaomi for sure) are 3-5 years old and the matrix needs to be changed.

If you want to get a really high-quality picture - choose TVs from 55 inches with 4K resolution and HDR10. Preferably with a QLED matrix. And of course, only the famous world brands Sony, Samsung, LG. Expensive. But the color rendition will be amazing and for a long time.

If we are talking about buying 32-50 inch TVs, then it is better to take FullHD. It's just an economical solution, on which there is simply no difference in comparison with 4K. And don't be fooled by in-store TV comparisons. After all, deception is used there - demo mode. Each TV has such a DEMO mode, when the brightness and contrast are selected so that the picture looks more juicy. By the way, it is better not to buy such TVs from the window. It is not known how long they worked at the limit of their capabilities.

LED and QLED - which one to buy

 

If the budget allows, definitely QLED! Even relatively inexpensive Chinese brands, QLED has a cooler matrix than LEDs from market leaders in terms of quality. This can be seen in the store, even without the DEMO mode. For example, if you start films with dark plots "The Witcher" or "Game of Thrones". On a bad sensor (with HDR on), there will be solid gray or black spots on a dark background of forest, buildings or objects. On a decent matrix, the same areas) will show the smallest details, without any halos and merging with the general background.

In general, you can do mathematical calculations. Here the state employee is designed for 3-5 years. And the TVs of the market leaders will last 10 or more years. On average, an inexpensive 55-inch LED TV is $ 400, and a QLED is $ 800. If we take into account the operating life, the costs are identical. Only QLED has better picture quality than LED. Therefore, buying a TV with quantum dots is much more interesting than equipment with an obsolete matrix.