HDR, nits, VRR, eARC: television terms explained clearly

Anyone buying a television today gets a data sheet full of abbreviations. Most of them are marketing; a few decide the picture. Here are the terms we are asked about most often in consultations – in order of importance.

Panel: OLED, QD-OLED, Mini-LED, QLED

OLED lights each pixel itself and can switch every one off individually: perfect black, wide viewing angle. QD-OLED is a variant with quantum dots for stronger colours and more brightness. Mini-LED is an LCD with thousands of small light-emitting diodes as backlight, dimmed in zones – very bright, ideal for bright rooms. QLED denotes an LCD with a quantum-dot colour filter; the word says nothing about the backlight.

HDR: HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, HLG

HDR (High Dynamic Range) means more contrast and finer colour gradations than conventional material. HDR10 is the basic form every television handles. HDR10+ and Dolby Vision adjust the rendering scene by scene; Dolby Vision is more widespread, Samsung backs HDR10+. HLG is the variant for broadcasters. Important: a television that "supports" HDR does not automatically show it well – that takes brightness.

Nits

Nits are the unit of luminance. A television with 300 nits shows HDR in name only. Good OLED sets reach over 1000 nits in small areas, Mini-LED sets considerably more. For dark living rooms, 600 to 800 is enough; for bright rooms it may be more.

Hertz, VRR, ALLM

Hertz states how often the picture is built per second. 60 Hz is enough for television and film; 120 Hz makes sport and games smoother. VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) matches the frame rate to the console and prevents stutter; ALLM switches automatically into low-latency game mode. Both are part of HDMI 2.1.

HDMI 2.1 and eARC

HDMI 2.1 carries 4K at 120 Hz and matters for consoles. Not every port on the television can do it – often two of four. eARC is the port through which sound goes losslessly to the soundbar or amplifier; without eARC only compressed audio formats arrive.

Local dimming and zones

On LCD sets the backlight is controlled in zones. More zones mean fewer halos around bright objects. Manufacturers are reluctant to state the number; from a few hundred zones it gets good, OLED needs no zones.

Picture processor and upscaling

The processor scales low-resolution material – HD television, older films – up to 4K and smooths motion. Here the manufacturers differ more than in the panel: Sony and LG are considered particularly strong, Samsung is close behind.

Filmmaker Mode

A picture mode that switches off all embellishments and shows the film as it was approved in the studio. The best setting for film nights; for sport a brighter mode makes more sense.

What really counts

A panel type suited to the room, real brightness, a good processor and at least two HDMI 2.1 ports. Everything else is detail – which we are happy to put into perspective in a consultation – at your seat, in the light of your living room.