Televisions have come a long way in development over the past ten years and have practically lost their original
55-inch TV rating:
- Sony KD-55XH8096
- Samsung QE55QN90A
- LG OLED55CX
- Xiaomi Mi TV 4S 55″
- LG 55NANO86
- Samsung UE55TU8500
- Philips 55OLED805
- Samsung The Frame QE55LS03T
- KIVI 55U600KD
Sony KD-55XH8096
Great picture and true HDR
Sony's mid-range model KD-55XH8096 is equipped with 4Ka screen that will allow you to enjoy the image without worrying about viewing angles. A feature of this model is backlighting, which gives uniform illumination of the matrix without glare, however, in contrast to this, the thickness of the TV suffered a little.
Buy
optimal choice
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Samsung QE55QN90A
The brightest TV in the area
Samsung flagship TV in 55 ”diagonal.Equipped with a Neo QLED display with Mini LED backlighting and an impressive peak brightness of 2000 cd / m². In a brightly lit room, you will immediately feel the difference with other TVs. There is also a 4.2 audio system and all the possible technologies that Samsung is capable of presenting on a TV.
Buy
best technologies
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LG OLED55CX
Modern OLED TV with good sound
LG OLED55CX - premium OLED TVSouth Korean manufacturer. As expected, it is endowed with excellent characteristics: 4K resolution, full 10-bit color depth, 120 Hz frequency. A great choice if you are looking for an OLED TV for the Playstation 5 or the new Xbox.
Buy
best with OLED
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Xiaomi Mi TV 4S 55″
Android TV at a reasonable price
No one is indifferent to Xiaomi, good or badbad, but devices from this manufacturer never go unnoticed. The Xiaomi Mi TV 4S 55″ TV was no exception. Thanks to its balanced characteristics, proven Android TV firmware and low price, the TV has become very popular.
Buy
best-seller
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LG 55NANO86
Games of the highest standard
TV option using technologyquantum dots from LG, model 55NANO86. Thanks to a high-quality matrix with a frequency of 120 Hz, it is perfect for both watching movies and gaming on new generation consoles, which can be connected using the existing HDMI 2.1 ports.
Buy
for gamers
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Samsung UE55TU8500
Vibrant colors and deep blacks
Mid-level model from Samsung.VA screen with improved Dual Led backlight technology with LEDs of different color temperatures, 4K resolution, powerful processor for video processing and backlight control. There is also a game mode with reduced response time.
Buy
with VA matrix
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Philips 55OLED805
Full immersion viewing
There is a special category of TVs - theyEquipped with Ambilight, which visually expands the boundaries of the screen. This technology is used by one manufacturer and Philips 55OLED805 is a bright representative of its class in every sense. In addition to customizable backlighting, the model is distinguished by an OLED matrix and excellent image processing algorithms. A good choice if image quality comes first.
Buy
with Ambilight
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Samsung The Frame QE55LS03T
Will fit into any interior
Samsung QE55LS03T - designer TV,made in the style of a picture, the "canvas" of which is an excellent QLED-display. This is not only a TV series viewer, but also an interior solution, the model's feature is interchangeable cover-frames of the case, which can be chosen to match the style of your living room. The design is also played up in software, paintings by famous artists can be displayed on the screen.
Buy
TV-picture
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KIVI 55U600KD
Budget TV 55 inches
Big TV for little money - short butcapacious description of the KIVI 55U600KD model. The device, although not expensive, is equipped with a 4K resolution matrix, which has good brightness. SmartTV, wireless Internet connection - everything you need for comfortable use.
Buy
the most affordable
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Sony KD-55XH8096 - the best choice
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The Japanese corporation Sony has always been famousthe quality of their televisions, both due to reliability and high-quality images. The Sony KD-55XH8096 model is no exception - this is a good TV for the right price.
The screen of the device is made using IPS technology, ithas 4K resolution, supports HDR, frequency 60 Hz. The brightness of the Direct LED backlight is 400 cd/m², which is significantly better than in devices of a lower class. But due to the type of matrix, the contrast is not a record, 1000:1. But the viewing angles are high - 178° vertically and horizontally.
The “heart” of the TV is the quad-coreMediatek processor built on ARM Cortex-A53 architecture, graphics accelerator - ARM Mali-G71, RAM capacity is 3 GB, flash memory - 16 GB. The device is equipped with the Android TV 9 operating system with a huge variety of not only applications for watching videos, but also many games. The interface is convenient and fast.
Black plastic TV case, legsplaced at the edges, spaced quite wide, the distance between them is about 100 cm, which must be taken into account if it is necessary to install it on furniture. Curiously, you can find the Sony KD-55XH8005 model, which is almost identical in characteristics, on sale (the only difference is in the frequency of the "float").
</ p>Samsung QE55QN90A - the best technology
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Samsung QE55QN90A - a top solution from one ofmajor TV manufacturers in the world. The screen of the Neo QLED device is a VA matrix with quantum dots. The backlight is made using Mini LED technology - under the screen there is an array of LEDs, each of which illuminates only a small part of the screen. Each LED is independently controlled to achieve a dynamic contrast ratio of 25,000: 1 and a maximum screen brightness of an incredible 2,000 cd / m². The refresh rate is 120 Hz. The screen has a special coating that prevents glare.
The device has a powerful processor for video processing, Neo Quantum Processor 4K, has support for HDR 10+ and the manufacturer’s proprietary technology Quantum HDR 32x.
Speaker power - 60 W, TVequipped with a woofer, 4.2 sound system. SpaceFit technology allows you to adjust the sound to the acoustic parameters of the room in offline mode. Active Voice Amplifier technology - intelligent noise reduction, allows you to enhance the sound of speech.
The TV is very thin, only 27 mm, when installed on a leg, which is located in the middle of the case and resembles the leg of a computer monitor, the dimensions of the TV will be 1227 × 768 × 232 mm.
</ p>LG OLED55CX is a worthy alternative
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LG is the largest manufacturer of OLED TV screens today. These matrices are used not only by LG itself, but also sold to competitors.
The TV uses a 4K resolution screen,3840×2160 refresh rate 120 Hz, full 10 bits enable the TV to play HDR content, the updated α9 Gen3 AI processor is responsible for upscaling video to 4K and improving playback quality. To watch films in the way the director intended them, there is a special mode - it turns off all the “add-ons” and “improvements”.
The sound on the TV did not disappoint either: it has two built-in speakers with a capacity of 10 watts each plus a 20-watt subwoofer.
TV display bezels are very thin, it is worthTV is very low. There is only one leg, but it is very wide; on the back there is a wide tray for laying wires. On the reverse side there are interface connectors, these are four HDMI 2.1, two USB 2.0, there are also audio outputs: analog 3.5 mm and optical.
</ p>Xiaomi Mi TV 4S 55″ – inexpensive TV with Android TV
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Xiaomi TVs, as well as othersdevices of this brand are famous for their good quality and performance for little money. And the Xiaomi Mi TV 4S 55″ was no exception to the rule.
The device is built on an IPS matrix, the resolution of which is 3840 × 2160, the screen brightness is 300 cd / m². The backlighting of the screen is reversed, with good uniformity.
The screen bezels are thin, made of brusheddark gray metal. The TV legs are located at the edges of the cabinet. The dimensions of the device, when installed on the legs, are 1232 × 711 × 264 mm, the thickness of the TV is 83 mm.
The TV is equipped with a quad-core processorCortex-A55 architecture and Mali-470 MP video accelerator, the amount of RAM is 2 GB, flash memory is 8 GB. It runs pure Android TV 9, but doesn't have Netflix certification (in case it matters to you).
The device is equipped with a dual-band adapterWiFi 2.4/5 GHz and Bluetooth. For wired connections, the TV is equipped with three USB 2.0 ports, three HDMI connectors, one of which supports the ARC protocol, and a composite video input. Using 3.5 mm you can connect headphones or a speaker system. You can also use the optical audio output to output sound.
</ p>LG 55NANO86 - TV for PS5
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LG Nanocell series uses technologyquantum dots - special nanoparticles filter the part of the spectrum between green and red, thus achieving more accurate color reproduction. This model is slightly above average in price, but it has a good range of features, from Dolby Vision support to HDMI 2.1 ports. Thanks to the latter, we get an excellent TV for the Playstation 5. If, of course, you can buy the scarce console.
The IPS matrix of this device has depth10-bit colors (achieved through FRC). The refresh rate is 120 Hz, the manufacturer does not indicate the maximum brightness, but it is at least no worse than previous models (up to 500 cd/m² when viewing HDR content). Local dimming technology is also implemented, but due to the small number of zones, dark and light stripes may be noticeable on the screen. However, the function can be disabled or reduced intensity in the settings.
Smart TV on all LG TVs runs onits own operating system WebOS, in this case the recently introduced sixth version with a completely redesigned interface, a more convenient settings menu and recommendations feeds. For comfortable work with the OS, the package includes a remote control with a Magic remote gyroscope (“air mouse”).
On the back side of the case there is a panel withinterface connectors among which: two HDMI 2.1 and two HDMI version 2.0, three USB 2.0, component and composite video inputs, two TV tuner inputs and an optical audio output.
</ p>Samsung UE55TU8500 - bright and contrasting colors
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Samsung is one of the world leaders in manufacturingtelevisions in the line of which there are models for almost every taste and budget. This model belongs to the Crystal UHD line, which provides excellent image quality using proprietary Dynamic Crystal Display technology. The manufacturer does not go into details, but we can say with confidence that the older models in the series (including the UE55TU8500) actually have a wider color gamut.
The device is equipped with a screen that allowswhose capacity is 3840x2160 pixels, refresh rate - 60 Hz. The matrix is made using VA technology, it is eight-bit, but using FRC technology, the TV supports HDR 10+ technology. A special feature of this model is the Dual LED backlight technology, which combines LEDs with different color temperatures and controls the intensity of their light depending on the image on the screen, this approach improves the quality of color display and the level of contrast.
The TV is running under operating room controlTizen systems from Samsung, which provides access to online services for watching videos, IPTV, and games. The OS contains an interesting Ambient mode: when the TV is not used for its intended purpose, it can act as a “digital frame” for displaying photographs, paintings or simply beautiful images. Thereby adding variety to the interior of the room. MultiView mode is a kind of “picture-in-picture” function, but rethought in a new way. It allows the display to simultaneously display images from the TV itself and from your mobile device. AirPlay 2 is also supported. If you plan to watch videos from a flash drive, let us remind you that recent Samsung models do not support DivX/Xvid codecs, and therefore will not play avi files from old movie collections.
Game Mode minimizes latency by turning off image optimization, making the TV an excellent solution for connecting to a Playstation 4 or Xbox One S.
The screen frame on three sides is very thin,one might say frameless. The TV is mounted on one leg, which is also used as a tray for organizing wires to hide them from view. The thickness of the TV is 57 mm, dimensions when installed on a stand: 1230x793x340 mm.
</ p>Philips 55OLED805 - total immersion with Ambilight
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Philips 55OLED805 is a TV with an OLED screen whose resolution is 3840x2160. The screen refresh rate is 60 Hz. The TV supports HDR10+ and Dolby Vision standards.
The TV is equipped with a P5 Pro Perfect processorPicture, which processes and “melts” the image using artificial intelligence. The TV also has a “Director’s Mode”, which displays the picture on the screen without processing, as intended by the creators.
Ambilight is located on thethe back of the TV on three sides: top and sides. This backlight visually enlarges the screen and increases the already high contrast of the OLED panel; also, thanks to Ambilight, the strain on eyesight when watching TV in a dark room is reduced.
This Philips TV uses AndroidTV, and not the manufacturer's own development Saphi. The capabilities of the Google operating system are much wider, since the user is not limited to applications of only the most popular streaming services.
The set of interface connectors includes 4HDMI 2.0 and 2 USB, optical audio output. The TV is not equipped with HDMI 2.1, which is why it is not so interesting for gaming on new generation consoles, but it is an excellent TV for watching movies and TV series.
</ p>Samsung The Frame QE55LS03T - designer picture TV
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Samsung has introduced several TV models that place a lot of emphasis on design, and the QE55LS03T is one of them.
The TV is equipped with a VA-matrix with a frequency of 120 Hz and10-bit color depth, using FRC technology. Screen resolution 4K, 3840 × 2160 pixels. The backlight uses QLED and Dual LED quantum dot technologies to deliver brilliant images with accurate color reproduction and wide color gamut. Maximum screen brightness 500 cd / m², static contrast 8000: 1.
This TV, like all Samsung models,runs on the Tizen operating system. The OS has an extensive library of applications for all occasions; in addition, it has a nice and productive interface. Among the additional functions, it is worth highlighting Ambient+. This mode allows you to change the appearance of the “turned off” TV screen, for example, it can display weather information or a background application to match the wall. A separate Art Mode is provided to display photographs and works of famous artists. It has a light sensor that adjusts the brightness to external conditions, and a motion sensor to turn off the screen when there is no one in the room (this is done to reduce energy consumption).
As mentioned above, design plays an important rolepart in this TV, and the main design feature of the series is the interchangeable screen frames. They can be easily removed and installed on the TV, and are held in place with magnets. The color and texture of the frames can be chosen so that they harmoniously combine with the interior of the room. Since the frames are sold separately, you don’t have to worry that after renovation or moving to another home, the TV will not fit the new interior.
You can install the TV on legs or hang iton the bracket that comes with the TV. With its help, you can hang the TV close to the wall, without a gap, but at the same time its tilt angle is adjustable.
</ p>KIVI 55U600KD - the most affordable
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KIVI is a fairly young TV manufacturer, but it has managed to gain popularity thanks to its budget price and good characteristics.
Model 55U600KD is equipped with an ASV screen, this is a subspeciesVA dies made by Japanese SHARP. The TV screen has a resolution of 3840 × 2160, a maximum brightness of 500 cd / m², a contrast ratio of 8600: 1. The backlighting of the screen is made using Direct LED technology, which means that the LEDs are located behind the screen, and not along its edges, this improves the quality of the picture display. Declared support for HDR 10 based on an eight-bit matrix using FRC technology.
The smart functionality of the device is built onAndroid 9 operating system with the Kivi Vision shell installed, which allows you to customize the system interface. The device has 2 GB of RAM and 8 GB of permanent memory.
The design of the TV is simple and laconic: small black frames and legs along the edges of the device. The dimensions of the device on the stand are 1238x776x269 mm, the thickness of the TV is 61 mm.
The TV is equipped with WiFi 2.4 GHz and Bluetooth 4.1 wireless interfaces.
For a wired connection, the TV is equipped with three HDMI 2.0 connectors with support for ARC and CEC technologies, two USB 2.0. For sound output, you can use 3.5 mm Mini Jack or optical output.
What you need to know before buying a TV
Smart TV and operating systems
Smart tv- the general name for televisions that havean operating system that allows you to install additional applications and, by connecting to the World Wide Web, use online services: play IPTV streams, work with online cinemas and YouTube, provide a banal weather forecast for the day.
There are a large variety of operating systems for TV on the market; almost every manufacturer has its own developments, but only three systems have become popular: Tizen, WebOS and Android TV.
Tizen- operating system developed byis handled by Samsung and is installed on TVs from this manufacturer. The system is minimalistic, convenient and well adapted. It will work perfectly on any TV where it is installed.
WebOS- the brainchild of LG Corporation, in fact,functionality at the level of its competitor Tizen: large application store, excellent optimization and minimalistic interface. Most models, except the most affordable ones, also come with a Magic Remote for cursor navigation. This year, LG updated the OS interface and began licensing webOS to other brands.
Android TV- developed by Google, essentially this is the sameAndroid, which is familiar to each of us thanks to smartphones. This OS is installed on their TVs by Sony, Xiaomi, Philips, Kivi and many other manufacturers. The main feature of the system is the ability to install a wide range of applications. Android TV will run almost any application found on smartphones. However, the “TV” version of the Google Play Store only contains applications whose interface is designed to be displayed on a TV screen. The rest can be installed manually using an apk file. On budget TVs, due to low hardware performance, Android may slow down. If the TV’s performance is high, then you can even run games on it. True, you will need a Bluetooth gamepad to control it.
On TVs from previous years or budget onesModels can also be found in other operating systems, often they do not differ in a large set of functions, speed of operation and the number of supported formats; it happens that there are no “smart” functions at all. In any case, if you are not satisfied with the number of applications on your device, the speed of operation or the quality of display of streaming video, there is always a simple solution - buying an external Smart TV set-top box, for example, the super popular Xiaomi Mi Box S.
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Matrix types
LCD, which stands for Liquid CrystalDisplay, also known as a liquid crystal display, is familiar to everyone. Matrices of this type have a huge number of variations: the screen of the Casio F-91W watch, the Motorola C360 mobile phone and a modern huge TV are built using the same technology, but are at different stages of the evolution of this technology.
An LCD screen is made up of pixels, in the case of 4Kscreens, the number of pixels on the screen reaches almost 8.5 million. Each pixel, in turn, consists of three subpixels: red, green and blue. When all three are illuminated (it is important to emphasize this word, as they do not themselves illuminate) with the same brightness, the pixel produces a white color.
Liquid crystals are precisely used toto change the pixel color. Each subpixel is a “sandwich” consisting of vertical and horizontal polarizing filters: installed in series, they block light, but between them there are those same liquid crystals controlled by electrical impulses. They can refract light, rotating the plane of its polarization at a certain angle. In this way, you can pass the required amount of light through the second filter, changing the intensity of the subpixel (the color of the subpixel is determined by the color filter):
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Illustration: Wikipedia
By adjusting the brightness of each sub-pixel separately, you can set each pixel the color required to create an image.
TN- the oldest technology used incolor displays. The crystal in such a display has the shape of a spiral; in the “off” state it is twisted at 90° and transmits light between two layers of polarizing filters. When voltage is applied to the subpixel electrodes, the crystal straightens, blocking the passage of light.
Such matrices have a short response time (athat's why they are still found in gaming monitors), but have mediocre color display and small viewing angles. Because of this, they are practically not used in TVs.
IPS- a matrix in which LC molecules are ordered inhorizontal line without transmitting light. When a signal is applied to the subpixel electrodes, the crystals do not simply rotate, transmitting light, they can turn over at a given angle, thereby adjusting the brightness of each subpixel. The advantages of this screen design are excellent viewing angles and very good color characteristics; IPS screens can have a color depth of 10 bits. Disadvantages include low contrast levels and response time.
VA- type of matrix with vertically orientedcrystals that better block light in the “off” state. When an electrical signal hits them, they tilt to let the light through. Such matrices have a higher contrast value than IPS and TN, and high quality color display at the 8-bit level, which is converted into 10-bit using FRC technology. But the viewing angles of such a matrix are slightly lower than those of IPS (in TVs this is partially solved by installing additional filters).
QLED- LCD screen, the characteristics of which are improved whenusing quantum dots - nanocrystals that emit light under the influence of blue LED backlight. The color emitted by quantum dots depends on the size of these particles; in TVs it is red and green, while blue is emitted by LED backlights. Thanks to this design, screens using quantum dots have a wider color gamut and high brightness levels.
OLED- a type of screen built on organicLEDs Unlike LCD screens, such matrices do not need backlighting, and there are no liquid crystals themselves, since each subpixel itself emits light. Due to the fact that the LEDs can simply be turned off to display black color, such matrices have a very high level of contrast and a depth of black color that is not comparable to TVs made using other technologies. In addition, the strengths of OLED TVs are wide viewing angles and generally high image quality.
As for the disadvantages, besides the highcost, there is a problem of pixel burnout: when the TV is operating at maximum brightness for a long time, static elements, such as a TV channel logo, or parts of a computer game interface, may be imprinted on the screen. Manufacturers use several techniques to reduce the influence of this effect, such as reducing the brightness of stationary objects and almost imperceptibly shifting pixels in such areas.
Refresh rate and float
Refresh rate (sweep) - characteristicTV screen, which reflects the number of frames it can display in one second, expressed in hertz. The higher the frequency of the matrix, the clearer and smoother the video sequence will be displayed. Displays with a frequency of 60 and 120 Hz are now available. However, often in the characteristics of TVs from different manufacturers, you can see the numbers 240, 400, 600 Hz - this is rather a marketing name for frame interpolation technology, which is also called "float".
On the one hand, such systems really help make dynamic scenes clearer, but on the other hand, if configured incorrectly, a “soap opera” effect appears:
HDMI and everything connected with it
HDMI is the main connection methodmultimedia devices among themselves: TVs, sound bars, game consoles, multimedia players and satellite signal receivers. Interface versions 2.0, revisions “a” and “b”, and 2.1 are considered current; these versions support a 4K signal with dynamic HDR and a frequency of 60 Hz; the HDMI 2.1 version supports a scanning frequency of 120 Hz at a resolution of 4K and even 8K, but with a frequency 60 Hz.
HDMI 2 is especially interesting.1 for gamers, since it is in modern games on new platforms that there is a need to transfer a very large amount of data to display on a 4K screen at 120 Hz. New technologies in this version of the standard are also of interest to players. For example, VRR adjusts the screen's frame rate in real time to match the frame rate of the PC or console's video output. This allows you to reduce the delay and make the picture smoother.
You can read more about HDMI 2.1 and the history of the development of the standard in our material.
Unlike connectors, which have a digital display of their version and of which there are already more than a dozen, there are only three versions of HDMI cables: Standard, High Speed and Ultra High Speed.
- Standart is an absolutely outdated format, transmitted information at a speed of up to 4.9 Gbps, supported 720p, 1080i resolutions.
- High Speed - the version of the cable that willyou need to connect devices with HDMI 2.0, 2.0a, 2.0b and all previous ones. This is the most common version of the cable in stores. The bandwidth of such a cable is 10.2 Gbps, which is enough to transfer 1080p and 4K video at 60 Hz, HDR, 3D.
- Ultra High Speed - the most modern standardcables with a bandwidth of up to 48 Gb / s. It supports 4K video transmission at 120 Hz, which is becoming necessary for the next-generation PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X game consoles. This bandwidth is also sufficient for 8K, 60 Hz playback.
HDMI-CEC- protocol provided by the HDMI standard,allowing you to synchronously control several devices using the remote control of one of them: simultaneously turn on and off the TV along with turning on the game console or media console, simultaneously adjust the sound, including on external devices (soundbar), switch the TV image to the input on which it appeared signal from a switched-on device, and so on. In real life, with devices from different manufacturers, not everything is so smooth: not all functions can be synchronized and controlled correctly, in some cases the function may not work at all.
HDMI-ARC- a function of the HDMI interface, the name of which istranslated as “Reverse Audio Channel”. HDMI-ARC allows you to transmit an audio signal via cable not only to the TV, but also from it to an AV receiver using one HDMI cable without resorting to additional audio cables, for further playback on an external speaker system.
Answers to popular questions
How do I mount my TV and soundbar to the wall?
Used to mount TVsspecial brackets, they can be thin, almost invisible, inclined or equipped with a rotating mechanism, but then the thickness of the bracket will be several centimeters. To select a mount, you need to look at the instructions for your TV and find out what size mount it is equipped with. These dimensions comply with the FDMI standard created by the VESA Association. The Samsung The Frame QE55LS03T picture TV comes with a mount already included, so the task is simplified. If necessary, the sound bar is attached to the TV via an additional bracket.
Which TV to choose for the Playstation 5?
For use with next generation consolesget a 4K TV with 120Hz refresh rate. It is imperative to make sure that the TV is equipped with an HDMI 2.1 connector, because it is he who has the bandwidth sufficient to transmit such a signal volume. This requirement is met by LG 55NANO86, as well as flagship models from LG and Samsung.
What is the best distance to watch 55 ”TV?
This question cannot be answered unequivocally, it israther, it depends on your preferences and the content you are viewing. The better its quality, the closer you can get to the screen. Although the film and television engineering community recommends that the TV should fill a 30 ° field of view, for a 55 ”screen this would be 235 cm.