Comparison Samsung UE-55BU8002 55 " vs Samsung UE-55AU8002 55 "

— Edge LED — side backlight of the matrix. In this case, the LEDs are distributed around the perimeter of the screen. To evenly distribute the backlight, the background of the matrix has a special reflector. An important advantage of TVs with Edge LED backlighting is the minimum thickness of the device. Among the shortcomings, one can note the presence of glare at the edges, which appear under certain conditions. Glare may be visible in scenes where dark hues predominate.

— Direct LED — rear matrix backlight. In this case, the LEDs are evenly distributed over the entire screen area. The Direct LED backlight makes the image contrast and bright at the same time. TVs with this technology have good colour reproduction. Among the shortcomings can be noted increased power consumption and increased dimensions. Additionally, such TVs have a large delay (Input lag), which is why Direct LED backlit screens are poorly suited for dynamic games.

— FALD (Full-Array Local Dimming) is a backlight technology widely used in LG TVs. A close analogue of FALD is the Direct LED backlight. The LEDs are also evenly spaced across the entire surface of the matrix, but FALD technology provides a bright, colour-rich image with high contrast. Another distinctive feature of FALD is the ability to reproduce natural blacks. When black is displayed on the screen, the LEDs are turn...ed off in groups, by sector, which allows to make black extremely saturated. Of course, the abundance of LEDs on the matrix makes the TV more massive, and at the same time heavy. The appetite for electricity in such models is above average.

— Mini LED. Screen backlight system on a substrate of reduced LEDs (hence the Mini prefix). On the same plane of the TV panel, the number of LEDs has increased several times, if we draw parallels with traditional LED systems. As a result, the canvas with Mini LED backlight has many times more local dimming zones of the picture (Local Dimming), which is necessary for the correct operation of the extended dynamic range image technology. For playing HDR content, Mini LED systems are much better than ordinary LCDs.

— Dual LED. Proprietary backlight system used in Samsung TVs. The technology involves illuminating the image on the screen with two types of LEDs: one emits light in a cold spectrum, the other in a warm one. The Dual LED enhances colour reproduction and enhances detail contrast by adapting the colour tone of the picture according to the content on the screen.

The TV's connectivity is based not only on wireless technologies (described above), but also on a wired connection. In particular, video transmission can be carried out through VGA, Component, Composite, SCART connectors. Some of them also provide sound transmission, in addition to which there may be a mini-Jack (3.5 mm). and other ports for interconnection with external devices. More about them:

— USB. Connector for connecting external peripheral devices. The presence of USB means at least that the TV is capable of playing content from flash drives and other external USB media. In addition, there may be other ways to use this input: recording TV programs to external media, connecting a WEB camera (see same paragraph), keyboard and mouse to use the built-in browser and other software, etc. The specific set of options depends on the functionality of the TV, it should be specified separately in each case.

— Card reader. A device for working with memory cards, most often in SD format. The main use of the card reader is to play content from such cards on a TV; such an opportunity is especially convenient for viewing materials from photo and video cameras — it is in such devices that memory cards are w...idely used. There may be other ways to use this function — for example, recording from the broadcast or even exchanging files between the card and the TV's storage. It is worth bearing in mind that SD cards have several subtypes — original SD, SD HC and SD XC, and not all of them may be supported by the card reader.

— LAN. Standard connector for wired connection to computer networks (both local and the Internet). Mostly found in models with Smart TV support (including Android TV devices; see related paragraphs). A wired connection is less convenient than Wi-Fi, not as aesthetically pleasing, so manufacturers place more emphasis on a wireless connection, as a result of which the speed indicators of the LAN connector are not indicated, and in some cases may be unacceptable for 4K broadcasts.

— VGA. Analogue video input, also known as D-sub 15 pin. Initially, the VGA interface was developed for computers, but due to the emergence of more advanced standards like HDMI (see below) and technical limitations (the maximum resolution is only 1280x1024, the inability to transmit sound), it is considered obsolete and is used less and less. So it makes sense to specifically look for a TV with such a connector mainly in cases where it is planned to be used as a monitor for an outdated computer or laptop.

— Component. Video interface with 3 connectors, each of which is responsible for its part of the video signal. This separation provides high bandwidth and noise reduction, making the component input the most advanced analogue video interface available today. So, it is capable of working with HD, and in terms of image quality it significantly surpasses S-Video and composite connector, closely approaching HDMI (see below).

— Composite. Combined analogue audio/video interface, it is this connector that is usually called the A/V input. Actually, there are usually three connectors in the composite interface — separately for video and the left/right channel of stereo sound (on TVs with one speaker that do not support stereo, one of the audio connectors is missing). The image quality when working through such an input is not high, and HD formats are not supported at all; on the other hand, the composite interface is extremely widespread not only in modern, but also in outdated equipment like VHS video recorders.

— SCART. The large universal multimedia connector, the largest connector used in today's consumer-grade video equipment. Works mainly with an analogue signal, which is why it is considered obsolete; however, still not falling into disuse. One of the reasons for this "longevity" is versatility: SCART does not have its "own" signal format, this standard only describes the connector. In fact, having the appropriate cables, you can connect different types of incoming signals to such an input — composite, S-Video, etc. Moreover, it is technically possible for such a connector to work as an output (for the same signal types). However the specifications of SCART connectors in different TVs may be different, so a specific list of compatible interfaces needs to be specified separately.

— COM port (RS-232). A connector originally developed for computer technology. It is used as a control on TVs: by connecting the device to a computer, you can control TV parameters and various settings, sometimes quite specific and inaccessible when using a conventional remote control.

— Mini-Jack (3.5 mm). A connector most commonly used as an analogue audio (line) input. One of the options for using such a connector is to connect audio for a video signal transmitted via VGA, S-Video (see above) or another interface that does not support audio transmission. However, with the appropriate cable, any audio source can be connected to the 3.5 mm mini-Jack port, including a mobile device like a smartphone or a pocket player. In this case, the sound can be played both through the speakers of the TV, and on external speakers connected to it. Another option for using this input is to connect a microphone for chatting via Skype.

About the interface itself, see above, and its different versions differ in maximum resolution and other features. Here are the options found in modern TVs:

— v 1.4. The oldest of the current versions, released in 2009. However, it supports 3D video, capable of working with resolutions up to 4096x2160 at 24 fps, and in Full HD resolution, the frame rate can reach 120 fps. In addition to the original v.1.4, there are also improved modifications — v.1.4a and v.1.4b; they are similar in terms of basic features, in both cases the improvements affected mainly work with 3D content.

– v 2.0. Significant update to HDMI introduced in 2013. In this version, the maximum frame rate in 4K has increased to 60 fps, and the audio bandwidth has increased to 32 channels and 4 separate streams simultaneously. Also from the innovations, we can mention support for the ultra-wide format 21:9. In the v.2.0a update HDR support was added to the interface capabilities, in v.2.0b this feature was improved and expanded.

— v 2.1. Despite the similarity in name to v.2.0, this version, released in 2017, was a very large-scale update. In particular, it added support for 8K and even 10K at speeds up to 120 fps, as well as even more expanded features for working with HDR. Under this version, its own cable was released — HDMI Ultra High Speed, all HDMI 2.1 features are available only when using cables of this standard, although basic functio...ns can be used with simpler cords.

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.

This parameter characterizes the efficiency of electricity consumption. Classes are designated in Latin letters from A to G, in ascending order of energy consumption. Actually, this was originally conceived, until more energy-efficient models pulled up to class A, which eventually received the marking A +, A ++, A +++. Further development of technology has made it possible to go even further, and in order not to produce pluses in energy efficiency labeling, in March 2021, manufacturers returned to the previous indices from G to A, where A is the most energy efficient TV. Accordingly, the 2021 models will have modern markings, while older models will be marked in the same way. Accordingly, now energy efficiency G, F, E has become the most popular, and models with energy efficiency A, D, C are rare.