Comparison Samsung QE-55Q8CAM 55 " vs Samsung UE-55KS9000 55 "

The level of dynamic contrast provided by the TV screen.

Contrast in a general sense is the ratio in brightness between the brightest whites and the darkest blacks that the screen can produce. Other things being equal, the higher the screen contrast, the better the quality of colour reproduction and detail, the lower the likelihood that it will be impossible to see details in too bright or too dark areas of the image. Formally, the main characteristic of screens is static contrast (see above), but even in advanced matrices it is relatively low. Therefore, manufacturers went to the trick, introducing such a characteristic as "dynamic contrast".

Dynamic contrast ratio is the difference between the brightest whites at the highest screen brightness settings and the darkest blacks at the lowest. These contrast ratios can be quite impressive—much higher than static—however, it is impossible to achieve such values within a single frame, and dynamic contrast ratio is stated more for promotional purposes than for describing the actual specifications of the screen. However, it cannot be said that this indicator is completely unrelated to reality. The fact is that many TVs use automatic brightness control, which changes the settings depending on the characteristics of the image. This control is based on the fact that when displaying bright scenes, there is no need to provide a deep black level, and in dark scenes, high brightness of light areas is not needed — th...ese are the features of the human eye. This means that in bright scenes you can increase the overall brightness, and in dark scenes you can reduce it; the maximum brightness difference achievable in this mode of operation is precisely described by dynamic contrast.

Dynamic Scene Index (DSI) provided by the TV screen.

DSI is a rather specific parameter that can be called "visible framerate". Its appearance is due to the fact that a high frame rate is highly desirable for dynamic scenes — it provides smooth images and good detail of moving objects. However, for technical reasons, it is not possible to achieve indicators above 200 Hz in most screens. In order to remedy the situation, manufacturers use special technologies that create the effect of increasing the frame rate.

Such technologies may have different names, but they have the same principle of operation — inserting additional frames between the "own" frames of the video being played. And the dynamic scene index describes the overall effectiveness of such technology used in a TV. For example, a DSI of 200 Hz means that the image quality on the screen approximates a frame rate of 200 Hz, although the actual frame rate is often as low as 50-60 Hz.

In the most advanced models, the dynamic scene index can be up to 3000 Hz, and options above 3000 Hz are considered to be TVs with a high dynamic scene index. However, it is worth noting that such specifications are more of an advertising ploy than a real advantage: in fact, the threshold for human perception is 400 – 500 Hz, a further increase in the DSI does not give a clearly visible improvement in the image.

The ability to display on the TV screen "pictures" from several sources at once. Usually, in the picture-in-picture mode, a small window is displayed in the background of the main image (or several such windows), which is displayed in full screen, in it you can see an additional image. One of the most popular ways to use this “multitasking” is to skip commercial breaks in TV broadcasts: for this time, you can switch the main image to a more interesting channel, and leave the ad in the auxiliary window to not miss the end of the commercial and continue watching. It is worth considering, however, that the images for each window must come from different sources — in other words, it will not work to turn on two channels at the same time from one tuner.

Internet services supported by the TV. This list may include multimedia platforms (YouTube, Vimeo, Netflix, etc.), social networks (Facebook, Twitter), online TV broadcasting systems, as well as more specific resources, sometimes very far from the original purpose of TV (for example, a game centre for online saves and interaction with other players).

Support for a particular service usually means that the TV has a special application to access it (or several services at once). Many of these resources can also be accessed through a browser (see "Features"), but special support often provides additional convenience and extended capabilities.

An external electronic unit with connectors has several useful properties at once. Firstly, this solution allows you to remove secondary electronics from the TV case, thereby reducing its thickness. Secondly, the remote unit hides the wires connected to the TV (audio, video) as much as possible, since only one cable enters it. Thirdly, the external unit can be placed in a more convenient place for use in such a way that connecting the drive every time will not be a difficult task. However, this also manifests itself as a disadvantage, because. additional space is required for the external connector block.

To implement this solution, the leading TV manufacturers approached each in their own way. Samsung has a separate external module One Connect (Slim One Connect), which is solely responsible for communication. LG engineers have gone a step further and added this functionality to the soundbar.

Most TVs have a VESA wall mount which may vary in size. The basis for such mount is a rectangular plate with four holes for screws in the corners. The main characteristic of such a mount is the distance between the holes — it is measured along the sides of the rectangle and is expressed in two numbers. The original VESA format is 100x100, these mounts are used for most medium-sized LCD TVs. For small screens, 75x75 mounts are provided, for large ones — 200x200 and more (up to 800x400).

However, there are also models that are equipped with a standard (proprietary) mount from the manufacturer. Mostly these are either ultra-thin TVs or designer lines. Anyway, the mount in the kit is suitable only for the selected model.

The electrical power normally consumed by the TV. This parameter strongly depends on the screen size and sound power (see above), however, it can be determined by other parameters — primarily additional features and technologies implemented in the design. It is worth noting that most modern LCD TVs are quite economical, and most often this parameter does not play a significant role — in most cases, power consumption is about several tens of watts. And even large models with a diagonal of 70 – 90" consume about 200 – 300 W — this can be compared with the system unit of a low-power desktop PC.