I wonder how many people would go back to buying a cathode ray tube TV if they had the choice. They were big, heavy, and not very impressive in terms of picture quality. Their only redeeming feature, so far as I can remember, was that once ensconced in the corner of the room they were a handy place to keep ornaments. The fact that you can hang your flat screen TV on the wall means that extra space is freed up, so you can find a proper bookcase where you can display your prized knickknacks.
Meanwhile, you should also be choosing your flat screen television, but which one?
LCD, LED, OLED QLED Flat Screen TV
LCD and LED TV sets make up the majority of TVs available on the high street today. The LEDs, or Light Emitting Diodes, can be made extremely small and that means that when they are build into a flat screen it’s possible to generate a picture of much higher resolution than was possible with the old vacuum tube TVs. Active dimming is used to ensure the contrast of the picture. Achieving a black which is really black has always been a problem for TVs of any kind, and active dimming is one way of ensuring that dark areas of the picture remain dark, even when nearby areas of the screen are fully illuminated. They also have a backlight which boosts the brightness of the picture but this comes with drawbacks: it makes the picture more visible if you’re watching in the dark, but it means that the true black everyone is looking for is impossible.
OLED screens are seen as better than LED TVs as they forego the backlight, relying solely on the brightness of the LEDs and dozens of ‘lighting zones’. This means that even when one LED is in displaying full bright white, the pixel next to it can still be completely black. Consequently detail and contrast can be picked out to such a degree that some say the image is hyperreal, insomuch as to see such detail with the naked eye is impossible without a magnifying glass or microscope.
Tiny Dots Mean Huge Detail
The Q in QLED TV stands for Quantum, and these TVs use ‘quantum dots’ to produce the picture. These dots are far smaller than even the smallest individual pixel dots produced on a LED flat screen TV. Although the QLED requires a backlight, the fineness of the image detail and the punchiness of the colours produced trick the eye into not noticing at all. The QLED is also among the thinnest of flat screen technology, and when it’s combined with size, QLEDS can be made up to 75” ( a staggering six feet) wide with ultra high HD you move far beyond a telly which is just there to watch the soaps on.
You may also have heard a lot of talk about 4K and 8K. This is relevant to the resolution that appears on screen. 8K gives picture resolution four times as fine as an HD image, the only drawback is there is so little content currently available in such detail. Ironically, to create stock for the 8K market producers are having to go back to movies filmed on 70mm film and converting them in order to get the picture quality that 8K shows off to its best, and movies shot on 35mm film, ie virtually everything shot during Hollywood’s Golden Age is perfectly suited to converting to 4K. It’s movies shot after the digital revolution which are struggling with being converted to 4K and 8K because the source data simply isn’t there.
The Best Place To See Flat Screen TV Is On The Wall
The best place to put your flat screen TV is on the wall. Because the build is far more ‘high end electronics’ and less ‘lumpen furniture’ the latest TVs are much less robust than they used to be. Being bigger and flatter they are prone to damage by flexing as well as dropping or falling over, and that’s why it’s so important to put them somewhere where they can be seen clearly and won’t be knocked flying by kids, pets, or even something as mundane as dusting.
Most flat screen TVs don’t come with their own wall mount though. They have removable feet or plinths, and the brackets you will need come as an option you have to buy separately. And the best advice for choosing a mounting bracket is ‘overkill’. Buying a fixture which will just barely support a TV of the size and weight you just invested in is storing up trouble. Instead, shop for a bracket which fits your TV but is rated for something heavier. Use the best quality screws and bolts, not necessarily the ones your bracket shipped with. Better yet, seek professional advice and assistance.
Call In The Professionals
A professional TV mounting engineer will be able to install your TV, no matter how large, on almost any stable wall in your home, guaranteed. And that guarantee is important. If you’re installing your own flat screen TV and drop it, it’s you who’s going to foot the bill to replace it. If your mounting wasn’t properly attached and the TV falls off the wall after a month, again, it’s you who’s paying for a new TV and fixing the wall too.
On the other hand, getting an experienced, qualified, guaranteed and insured professional to do the work means if they drop it while they’re putting it up, scratch the screen with their tools or anything else goes wrong at any point during the warranty, it’s up to them to pay for and put it right.
Briant Communications are experts in supplying and installing a range of TV, home entertainment, audio visual and home cinema hardware, including the supply and mounting of flat screen television sets and the brackets necessary to hang them. If you’re interested in hanging the flats screen TB you’ve just bought, or you want us to supply and mount the TV ourselves get in touch and tell us what you need. Either fill in your details on our Contact Us form, email us at enquiries@briantcomms.com or call during office hours on 01273 465377