New Technologies We Saw In Smart TVs Of 2020

Smart TV is the recent rage and everyone wants to own one, be it for streaming videos or playing games. In fact, during the tough times that we faced due to COVID-19, these have provided the much-needed escape with a plethora of content. This year, we have seen several new smart TVs enter the market with new technologies that were showcased at the CES 2020 earlier this year.

Having said that, here we have curated a list of five new smart TV technologies that have started making the way into the market but yet to go mainstream.

Dolby Vision IQ

Sometimes, it could be tough to make out what is happening on-screen due to darkness. The Game of Thrones finale is one such content. If you are annoyed by such content, then the Dolby Vision IQ is here for your rescue as it will tackle the issue of dim pictures. At the time of its launch, this technology was touted as "Beyond HDR". Notably, HDR enables expanded contrast and color, which lets directors and content creators come out with content that has a darker output. While not all TVs can bring out the details in darker environments clearly, especially while watching in a bright room, Dolby Vision IQ resolves the issue by adjusting the content as per the brightness of the room, using dynamic metadata from light sensors.

To date, some TVs such as Panasonic and LG 2020 OLED lineups have announced compatibility with this technology. We can expect more such TVs to be launched in 2021.

HDMI 2.1

HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) lets viewers enjoy high definition video through a small cable and eliminates the need for bulky SCART connectors. It has advanced and resulted in the HDMI 2.1 technology, which is touted to have increased the video resolution with support for up to 8K resolution at 60 frames per second and 4K resolution at 120 frames per second. Both HDMI 2.1 and faster refresh rates are touted to bring the best-ever TV viewing experience.

LG has already come up with support for this technology with the launch of OLED TVs with four HDMI 2.1 ports. Also, there are new Samsung TVs with one such port.

NVIDIA G-Sync

Of late, PC gamers are shifting their focus on TVs for various reasons such as bigger screens and more. Realizing this, LG announced the NVIDIA G-Sync technology at the CES 2020 expo. This technology is touted to provide a great way to experience variable refresh rate. Detailing on this technology, it works by synchronizing the refresh rate of the TV with the frame rate of the game and it will need a NVIDIA GPU to work. Once it is plugged in to a compatible LG TV, the refresh rate will go up to 120Hz.

LG has already launched several G-Sync supported smart TVs in the C9, B9 and E9 lineup. Furthermore, its entire 2020 OLED lineup of smart TVs have this feature.

Filmmaker Mode

While film producers spend millions to make movies that are a visual treat, your TV processors might ruin the effect. The motion smoothing aka soap opera effect inserts additional frames to produce great content but it somehow makes movies worse. This is where the Filmmaker Mode comes to play.

Filmmaker Mode is a picture mode created by UHD Alliance (an industry group comprising Dolby, LG, Netflix, Samsung and more) in collaboration with filmmakers. On activating this feature, it will override motion smoothing and makes sure you enjoy authentic cinematic experience.

We have seen smart TVs from Samsung, Panasonic, LG, Philips and a few other brands feature the Filmmaker Mode. While LG is in plans to activate this feature automatically for relevant content, the other models require manual activation of the same.

Samsung Tap View

If you like casting the content on your phone to your TV, then Samsung Tap View will make it easier than ever before. Undoubtedly, this technology works only with Samsung smart TVs. It supports both Android and iOS devices and activates NFC mode. The TV's NFC receiver will be turned on to connect with your device.

Tap View is different from other cast to TV technologies such as Miracast or Google Chromecast as it depends on NFC. You can also tap your device physically against the TV so that when you hold your device close to the NFC receiver, the Tap View functionality will read the details and show your video from Netflix, YouTube or library. The Samsung QLED 8K, QLED 4K, Lifestyle and Outdoor series TVs support this feature.