Televisions look much different than they did a decade ago. Not only are they becoming thinner and lighter, picture quality is almost life-like and the Internet plays a big role in how TVs are used. Here are some details on this year’s TV trends.

Televisions look much different than they did a decade ago. Not only are they becoming thinner and lighter, picture quality is almost life-like and the Internet plays a big role in how TVs are used.

Here are some details on this year’s TV trends.

LED TV

LED TVs are a type of LCD TVs. The difference lies in what is used to illuminate the screens. LED stands for light-emitting diodes and they are what backlights LED TV screens. LED TVs are simply LCD TVs with LED backlighting.

They are characterized for having deeper blacks and being more energy efficient than their LCD TV counterparts. Local dimming allows LED TVs to have deeper blacks because the technology allows some parts of the backlight to dim, allowing less light to peak through to allow a more realistic picture. Local dimming is also responsible for LED TVs being more energy efficient. By having less light needed to produce a picture, less energy is also needed.

Smart TV

Smart TVs or “connected TVs” can be connected to the Internet to access browsers, apps and streaming services. They are commonly used for browsing the web, online streaming, social networking and games. They are essentially computers as they have computer chips to handle video processing and Internet connection.

On demand streaming over the Internet directly to your home is what drives the Smart TV technology. This technology promotes online streaming and eliminating cable TV. Built-in apps for popular services like Netflix, Hulu and Spotify eliminates the need for multiple devices and wires.

4K TV

4K and Ultra HD (or UHD) are often used interchangeably. However, there is a difference between the two. UHD TVs are characterized by their higher resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels or four times the 1920 x 1080 pixels in your standard HD TV. 4K TVs, on the other hand, have a 4096 x 2160 pixels resolution. Hence, 4K refers to the image width.

The main difference lies in whether we are referring to a cinema standard or a broadcast standard. 4K refers to the 4096 x 2160 pixels resolution, which was standardized by the Digital Cinema Initiatives. Even with the difference in resolution, several manufacturers refer to UHD TVs as 4K TVs or 4K UHD TVs. Regardless of what they call them, manufacturers are referring to TVs that have one of the highest resolutions out on the market today. The large number of pixels crammed together yields a clearer picture showing more details. The pixel density of 4K TVs also allows images to stay clear even when up close compared to older TVs’ pictures that break down and allow pixels to be seen when approached.

Curved TV

Curved TVs are fairly new to the market; however, major companies have invested in the improvement of curved TV technology. The idea behind the curved TV screen is allow watchers to feel as if they are a part of what they are watching. The curve is meant to wrap around you and be in your peripheral vision. This draws the eye out to give the user a wider view while also giving depth and dimension as the curved parts are closer to you than the rest of the screen.