Welcome to another episode of Jargon, the new show from Digital Trends that deciphers the complex lingo of various industries into words and concepts the rest of us can understand. We’re live each week on Tuesdays with fresh jargon from a different industry.
On this episode, host Myq Kaplan invites special guest Scott Cohen, national product training manager at Samsung, to help him shed some light on the jargon of screen technology. From the humble beginnings of a tiny 10-inch TV screen in a furniture-sized console to a tiny high-definition screen that fits in your pocket, we define the jargon behind all your screens.
Join us as we dive into the following terms:
- The “K” in 4K and 8K: How many Ks do you have? How many is enough? The “K” in 4K and 8K speaks to the amount of pixels in a screen. Cohen reminds us that the bigger the screen, the more pixels needed to fully render a high-resolution image.
- LED (Light Emitting Diode): The LED is the light in our lives, and Cohen says Samsung is “taking the LED screen to the next level” with its various technologies. From QLED to Micro LED, Cohen says there will be more and more possibilities for how we use our screens.
- Nit: Not to be nitpicky, but TVs are measured by more than just Ks and LEDs. Their brightness is measured in what’s called a nit. “They’re very important,” Cohen points out. Nits are what helps screens cope with ambient light – whether it’s light from the sun or a lack of light when checking your messages in a dark room. Cohen illuminates the world of nits, and where the technology goes from here.
- HDR (High Dynamic Range): High Dynamic Range, as Cohen points out, is a study in contrast — color and light contrast, that is. HDR helps make screen images rich with color and definition, and is an integral part of a life-like picture.
- Motion Interpolation: Some call it “blur reduction” (Cohen does). Some call it “the Soap Opera Effect” (Kaplan does). Some call it an atrocity to modern TV screens that makes every image look like home video garbage (I do). For the record, “motion interpolation” is a feature in most TVs that reduces blur and stutter, helping images translate onto a bigger area, and it doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere soon.
Join us next week as we unlock the jargon of digital advertising with expert guest Jeff Nicholson, chief media officer for VaynerMedia.
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