Comparison Sony KD-55XE8505 55 " vs Sony KD-55XE9005 55 "

The type of coating used on the TV screen.

— Matte. Historically, the first type of coating for LCD screens, which is often found today. Screens with such a coating generally have average characteristics of brightness, saturation and colour reproduction quality, in terms of these indicators they are inferior to glossy counterparts. However, the matte coating has one important advantage: it has virtually no glare from ambient light. In some situations, this can be an important advantage — for example, if the TV is installed opposite the window. And for some users it is more pleasant to look at the screen without glare, albeit relatively dim.

— Glossy. A coating designed to improve the brightness and colour quality of the visible image compared to matte screens. The creators have managed to achieve this goal: "glossy" screens really provide rich, vibrant colours and a brighter image. The key disadvantage of such screens is the appearance of glare from ambient light on them — this can ruin the whole viewing experience. Because of this, the classic glossy coating is practically not used today, anti-glare solutions have taken its place (see below).

— Glossy (anti-glare). Modification of the glossy coating, created, as the name implies, in order to eliminate the main drawback of the classic gloss — glare from external lighting. This is not to say th...at such screens do not glare at all, but there are much less reflections on them than on ordinary glossy ones. As for the image quality, it is at least not much worse, and often even better (especially since such coatings are constantly being improved). Thanks to all this, most modern TVs of all price categories are equipped with anti-glare screens.

The maximum brightness of the image provided by the TV screen.

The image on the screen should be bright enough so that you do not have to strain your eyes unnecessarily to view it. However, too high brightness is undesirable — it will also lead to fatigue. The optimal brightness level depends on the surrounding conditions: the more intense the ambient light, the brighter the TV screen should be. So, on a sunny day, the screen may have to be “turned up” to the maximum, and in the evening, in dimmed light, a relatively dim image will be more comfortable. In addition note that large screens require higher brightness, since they are designed for a greater distance from the viewer.

Thus, the higher the number in this paragraph, the greater the margin of brightness this model has, the better it will show itself in intense ambient light. The lowest indicator sufficient for more or less comfortable viewing in any conditions is 300 cd/m² for models with a diagonal of up to 32", 400 cd/m² for models in the range of 32 – 55" and 600 cd/m² for large screens of 60" and more. In this case, the brightness margin anyway will not be superfluous. But with lower indicators, you may have to darken the room somewhat for comfortable viewing.

The level of static 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. Static contrast, on the other hand, describes the maximum difference in brightness that can be achieved within one frame without changing the brightness of the image — this is its difference from dynamic contrast (see below).

The values of static contrast are much lower than those of dynamic, but this characteristic is the most "honest". It is on it that the properties of the image seen on the screen at a particular moment depend, it is describes the basic properties of the screen, without taking into account the software tricks provided by the manufacturer in the hardware of the TV.

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.

File formats that the TV can play from external media (such as a USB flash drive) via a USB port. Modern televisions, usually, can work with a fairly extensive set of formats, including video, audio, pictures, and even text documents. At the same time, we note that within the same format, different encoding methods can be used, and some files may turn out to be unreadable even if they formally match in format. This is especially true for inexpensive and outdated TVs.

— Coaxial (S/P-DIF). An interface for transmitting audio in digital format, which allows to transmit multi-channel audio via a single cable with an RCA connector (“tulip”). In terms of resistance to interference, this standard is somewhat inferior to the optical one (see below) — this is due to the fundamental differences between these interfaces. On the other hand, electrical cable is more reliable than optical fibre and is not as sensitive to pressure and bending.

— Optical. An output for transmission of a digital audio signal on a fibre optic cable; allows the transmission of multi-channel audio. Notable for its complete insensitivity to electromagnetic interference. On the other hand, fibre optic cable is quite fragile, it must be protected from bending and strong pressure.

— Mini-Jack (3.5 mm) for headphones. Standard 3.5mm headphone jack. Headphones can come in handy if you need to keep quiet and you can’t use the TV speakers – for example, at a later time of the day; or vice versa, if the environment is noisy and the sound of the TV is hard to hear. Most modern "ears" use a mini-Jack plug, so this connector is the standard headphone output in TVs. And in some models, this output can also be used as a linear output — for example, to connect individual speakers, a sound recording device, etc.

— Subwoofer. A separate output for connectin...g a subwoofer to a TV is a speaker for reproducing low and ultra-low frequencies. Audio systems without subwoofers usually reproduce these frequencies quite poorly. The use of subwoofer allows you to achieve the most deep and rich sound, which is especially important when watching movies with a lot of special effects or high-quality recordings from concerts. At the same time, it is worth noting that such outputs are quite rare in TVs: it is assumed that a full-format external audio system is more suitable for a demanding listener than a separate subwoofer.

— Line. Standard analogue audio interface; usually, provides the transmission of two-channel stereo. It is used primarily to connect active speakers and other audio equipment (for example, audio receivers or power amplifiers) to TVs. It can use different types of connectors, but most often it provides either a 3.5 mm mini-Jack or a pair of RCA jacks for tulip cables. Note that it is a separate line output that is meant here; in some models, this function can be performed by a 3.5 mm headphone jack (see above), but for them the presence of a line-out is not indicated.

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.