STACK #225 July 2023

FEATURE TECH

HISENSE HIGHLIGHTS Hisense are renowned for offering affordable smart TVs with premium features, and their displays are a common fixture in Australian homes. The brand’s 2023 range of ULED TVs feature Mini LED tech for brighter pictures and a wider colour palette, along with more local dimming zones for deeper blacks.

A SHINY NEW OLED FROM SONY OLED is the current flagship of TV technology, and this month Sony add the luminous A80L 4K HDR OLED Google TV to their prestigious BRAVIA XR range. OLED TVs use self-lit pixels to deliver greater contrast and truer blacks than TVs that use a backlighting source. They have a wide viewing angle for stable colour and contrast wherever you’re seated, and an extremely fast response rate that minimises motion blur in fast moving scenes. And OLED is also more energy efficient than its counterparts, which is good for the hip pocket. Sporting a sleek and minimalist design, Sony’s new A80L OLED 4K HDR Google TV has all the advanced features of its BRAVIA XR range, including the Cognitive Processor XR – a clever bit of tech that analyses content and reproduces it according to how the human eye would see it, resulting in incredibly lifelike images and depth perception. And all-new XR Clear Image processing reduces any noise and blur to further enhance picture quality. The peak brightness, vivid colours, and pure blacks of OLED TVs receive a significant boost from Sony’s XR OLED Contrast Pro and XR Triluminos Pro tech, and when watching SD and Full HD content, XR upscaling elevates colour and detail to near 4K quality. HDR content brings out the best in an OLED TV, and the A80L supports both HDR10 and Dolby Vision, along with further image enhancement features like IMAX Enhanced to upsize the screen aspect screen aspect ratio on compatible content, and Netflix Adaptive Calibrated Mode, a picture preset that presents streaming content exactly as the makers intended it to look. The A80L features the Google TV platform, which organises your favourite content from a range of streaming apps for easy access using “Hey Google” voice control. And there’s even more entertainment available on the exclusive inbuilt BRAVIA Core app, including movie streaming in 4K UHD where supported. When it comes to sound, Acoustic Surface Audio centres it to ensure it always matches the scene, while the new Acoustic Centre Sync feature lets you synchronise a compatible Sony soundbar with the A80L’s internal speakers for more immersive sound and clearer dialogue. And with dedicated gaming features like optimised picture quality modes and a Game Menu interface for quick management of settings, the A80L OLED is the perfect match for a PlayStation 5 console. Size-wise, the Sony A80L OLED is available in 55”, 65” and 83”.

Hisense’s U6KAU, U7KAU and U8KAU 4K smart TVs are available in sizes starting from 55” up to a big 100”, depending on the model. They combine Mini LEDs and Quantum Dot technology for enhanced contrast, peak brightness, and accurate colour reproduction across more than one billion shades, resulting in incredibly lifelike pictures. Add HDR to the mix for a truly eye popping experience with supported content. The 2023 Mini LED range features

scene using the deep learning ability of the TV’s central processor, the Hi View Engine. Hisense TVs are popular with gamers for their dedicated modes, including VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode), and support for AMD FreeSync Premium and Game Mode Pro for optimised gaming settings. The new Mini LED range features an increased refresh rate of 144Hz for smoother play, and a new Gaming Bar status display has been added.

both advanced formats, Dolby Vision IQ and HDR10+ Adaptive, for dynamic scene-by-scene picture adjustment according to a room’s lighting conditions. VIDAA, Hisense’s proprietary operating system, is inbuilt and provides quick and easy access to popular streaming apps, as well as personalisation options for content and searches. It also enhances streaming video quality scene-by

TOP TV TECH FROM TCL TCL have a reputation for delivering smart TVs with high quality pictures and cutting edge features at highly affordable prices, and their new C845 Mini LED range offers even more bang for your buck.

The C845 range has a Mini LED TV to fit all spaces, starting with 55” and 65” models for the average lounge room, and 75” and 85” sets for those who want to go bigger. TCL’s TVs are packed with many premium features and their Mini LEDs are no exception, with Full Array and local dimming for greater backlighting control, more precise scene adjustment, deeper blacks, and greater contrast. Both HDR10+ and Dolby Vision IQ are onboard for advanced scene-by-scene image optimisation of supported content,

as well as IMAX Enhanced mode to enlarge and enhance the picture quality of supported content, like many new Marvel movies. There are also a variety of dedicated picture modes for optimal viewing of content like movies, sports, and games. The C845 range also comes with the Google TV smart operating system built-in, with "Hey Google" voice control using the remote control. The Google TV OS provides hundreds of thousands of movies and TV shows by conveniently bringing all

your apps and content together in one handy main interface for simpler searching. There’s no more switching between individual apps to find something to watch! TCL’s new Mini LED TVs are also ready for gaming, with 144Hz Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), FreeSync Premium Pro, Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM), and HDMI 2.1 connectivity, giving players an enhanced and lag-free experience.

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