SAN ANTONIO – If you’re in the market for a new television, there’s a new technology that’s separating good televisions from even better ones.
The technology is called high dynamic range, or HDR, and it’s available on most 4K TVs.
“This is a technology that’s making bigger, brighter and bolder images -- more like what you see in real life,” said Jim Willcox, tech editor for Consumer Reports. “The big differentiator this year is how well a TV can handle HDR content.”
HDR is designed to show brighter images with more detail in both the darkest and brightest parts of a scene. Plenty of TVs on the market say they’re HDR-capable, but that won’t necessarily give you an indication of how well they actually perform.
“There are some TVs that can deliver all the excitement of HDR, and there are others that say they support HDR but look no different from a TV that doesn’t have that feature,” Willcox said.
Another difference between the TVs that do HDR well and those that don’t is the price. Consumer Reports found that, with some exceptions, you’re going to have to pay a little bit more to get really good HDR performance.
The show or movie you watch needs to be shot and transmitted in HDR for the feature to work. More and more HDR content is being offered, especially by streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon. Consumer Reports said that’s why buying a TV with good HDR performance is so important.
Consumer Reports recommends the 65-inch LG Model No. 65SK9000PUA for $1,700. If you need a smaller TV, the 55-inch TCL Model No. 55R617 for $650 is a Consumer Reports best buy.