Month: March 2018

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Hiding Speaker Wire Solutions

Hiding Speaker Wire Solutions

Hiding Speaker Wire Solutions

Hiding Speaker Wire Solutions

Just from the title alone, I’m sure you’re already aware what this article is going to be about; hiding speaker wire solutions!

With all that goes into creating that perfect home theater, it can be pretty easy to overlook a lot of the smaller things that go into it as well. From the height of your speaker, to the color accuracy of your display, it’s essentially an entire world in of itself.

And if you just recently set up a new system (congrats on that) it’s likely you noticed something else too, something rather concerning; the wires.

Yes the wires, the lifeline of your entire setup.

As great as they are, you’ve probably realized by now that they’re, quite simply, in the way.

Tripping over them definitely isn’t fun, (I would know) and neither is worrying about accidentally pulling something over. Not only that, but it  also makes the room to look unsightly and who wants that?

Hiding home theater wires is the focus, so I wanted to share with you today a few of the ways you can tidy things up so everything is clean and professional looking.

Do note you’ll have to unplug your equipment before you do this (and possibly rewire depending on what method you plan on using)

Anyway without further ado, let’s get into it 😀

 

Use A Wire Tacker & Cover Them With Matching Paint

 

Cover Them With A Carpet /Rug

 

Placing Them Under The Floor Itself

 

Place Them By A Light Strip

 

Use Flat Speaker Wire

 

Use A Cable Cover/Cable Raceway

 

Place Them Under Crown/ Chair Rail Molding

 

Install Them Through The Wall

 

Use Clear Tape

 




 

Use A Wire Tacker & Cover Them With Matching Paint

In this picture, a paint brush is shown

Let’s say you want to run your speaker wires along the wall, but you’re worried about it looking somewhat ugly.

In this case, what you could always do is paint over them in matching paint to the wall they’re being placed on.

I do want to say if you’re renting your place by the way, make sure it’s okay for you to actually do something like this prior.

Now if you haven’t done so already, you’ll want to do some measuring beforehand to see what length of wire you’ll need to run from the speaker to the receiver, so I’d recommend doing this first.

After you’ve figured out the length and cut the wire, you’ll need a way to actually pin them to the wall.

One thing that works exceptionally well is using a wire tacker to do so.

You might initially think this would hurt the wires, but that’s not the case at all. They actually have staples specifically designed for each different gauge wire so that that isn’t the case.

One wire tacker I would recommend to you is the Arrow Fastener T59 Wiring Tacker along with these Arrow Fastener Wire Staples.

Once you’ve secured the wire to the wall (which you might need someone to else to hold up) you can then paint over it so that it blends in, making it much less of an eye sore.




 

Cover Them With A Carpet /Rug

In this picture a carpet is shown

For those of you out there who simply don’t have the time, or energy to be doing some of the more elaborate things on this list, (I sympathize with you) here’s a super fast and easy fix for you; cover them with a rug!

If you have wires that happen to be running across doorways, and places with a lot of foot traffic, then it’s very possible for you to trip over them.

Worse still, is it’s possible for someone to trip and pull a speaker down, which is something I’m sure you’d like to avoid.

So by placing a small throw rug on top of spots like these, they’ll not only be out of the way for the most part, but you also won’t have to worry about any accidental mishaps occurring.

Plus, there’s always the added bonus of it adding a sense of style to the room which is always nice.

Obviously it won’t be able to cover every inch of the wire, but it’ll cover enough to where it isn’t a problem.

Besides the rug, something else I would recommend to go along with it would be a rug pad which would help it not move around everywhere when you walk across it.

Indoor Rug

 

Rug Pads

 

 

Placing Them Under The Floor Itself

Here’s a more involved method if you’re looking for a more permanent, all around solution. By running them underneath, or between your carpet/hardwood floor & even the baseboard, you’ll be able to completely conceal them.

How easy this process is for you is going to depend on how tight the space is between both of them.

If you happen to find that the space is too tight for this to be done normally, I’ve found that lightly nudging it along with a small flat headed screwdriver typically does the trick. You don’t want to be too rough obviously, just enough so that it slides in without damaging or ripping.

But for this, while not completely necessary, you may want someone else to assist you. That way, one could pull the carpet up, and the other could place the wire.




 

Place Them By A Light Strip

In this picture, an LED light strip is shown

This is more on the cosmetic side of the spectrum. If you don’t like the look of bare wire running along the floor, what you can do is place LED light strips right beside it to help make it a lot less noticeable.

The awesome part about these is that they’re usually fully customizable, meaning you can change the color, length, etc. to whatever works best for you; some are even fully controllable by phone! How cool would it be to changing the lighting in a room with just a cell phone?

Plus, they can also add a sense of decorum to the room that definitely helps when it comes time for movie night. One awesome one that I like would have to be the YiHong LED Light Strip RGB Strip.

Not only is it a flat adhesive based light strip that can be placed anywhere and is super easy to install; it also works with your mobile so you can then customize the light color to anything you want. It even has smart assistant compatibility.

Seriously, how cool is that?

 

 

Use Flat Speaker Wire

Here’s another one of my favorite options; using flat speaker wire! Yes you heard that right. There’s a thing called flat speaker wire. Like the name suggests, it still acts as normal speaker wire, it’s just completely flat with the added benefit of being able to stick to any surface.

The advantage of this choice is that you’re given more freedom, since you can run the wire exactly how you want to without a lot of the extra work. Plus you never have to worry about damaging it since it runs flush with whatever surface it sticks to.

This is perfect for those tight spots where space is an issue. Heck if this is the case, you could even get creative and combine it with one of the previous tips by running it under the carpet and into the receiver; making it as least intrusive and minimalist as possible.



Now the best flat speaker wire in my opinion would have to be the Sewell Ghost Wire, Super Flat Adhesive Speaker Wire. That’s because of the fact that it’s easy to use, looks great, and most importantly, I’ve found it to actually be durable which is certainly helpful in my opinion.

You’ll also need what’s known as a terminal block which is basically where the wires go, regular 16 gauge speaker wire to connect to the terminals, and banana plugs that go into your receiver. Here’s how to connect it should you use this method along with how to actually strip the speaker wire itself.

https://sewelldirect.com/learning-center/hide-speaker-wire-with-sewell-ghost-wire

 

https://easyhometheater.net/how-to-set-up-a-home-theater#wire

 

 

Use A Cable Cover/Cable Raceway

Using cable raceways are another great option to hide any exposed wires.

What are they?

Basically think of them as elongated plastic covers that your wires go through to be hidden. They’re usually ran around doorways and along walls so that they’re out of the way, and can be painted to further blend in.

These are especially great to use if you’re someone who’s concerned with maintaining the aesthetic of your home, since these can be added to seamlessly to hide any unsightly wiring.

There are different types of these as well including ones that have open or closed latches that help hold the wires in place. Here’s a good one to use if you plan on going that route.

Wiremold Cable Management Cord Mate II

 

Alternatively, you can also take the more temporary, but still related route of using cable covers as well. These are typically made of rubber, and are extremely effective in protecting wires; even when weight is applied over them.

This makes them an attractive option for places where there would be a lot of foot traffic, since they’re flatter on the bottom which would make it hard to move around. Wire covers also tend to have the most traction on hardwood flooring, but they still work great on carpets too.

On top of that, you have plenty to choose from since they come in all kinds of sizes and types.

Cord Covers

 




 

Place Them Under Crown/ Chair Rail Molding

Crown molding is basically the plastic piece that commonly runs across the tops of walls and adds character to a room.

Its original purpose was to cover gaps within the walls, but it eventually became an aesthetic piece.

Chair rail molding is pretty much the same thing except it’s usually located towards the bottoms of walls.

What you can do to make wiring more discrete, is run them under the molding so that it gives the appearance that it isn’t even there which is pretty cool in my opinion. This option again, is extremely useful if you prioritize maintaining a clean looking movie room.

Here’s a link on how to do exactly that along with an awesome adhesive molding that may make things easier.

The process basically involves tacking the wire onto the wall then placing the molding over it. It’s a little involved so I’d recommend setting some time aside to do this.

InstaTrim Adhesive Trim

 

Install Them Through The Wall

Now this is of course, the most involved option on the list; running wires through the wall. Again if you’re renting your place, then I’d highly suggest getting clearance from your landlord first if you do attempt something like.

But this is an option for those of you looking for more of a permanent solution; especially if you plan on using things like ceiling speakers and such.

To be honest, unless you have extensive DIY/contracting knowledge, I’d highly recommend hiring a professional to do this for you as the process can be quite extensive.

However do note that if you are going to attempt this method yourself, you’ll likely need a friend or two to help along with a lot of time and patience.

 

Use Clear Tape

This is a picture of clear tape

This option is obviously a more temporary choice, but hey, it does the job. If you have an event coming up (such as a party), and you have no time to implement a more permanent fix, then for the time being, some clear tape could always do the job.

Taping the wires up against the wall or against the floor can be an easier way to ensure that they’re out of the way.

Final Thoughts

Hopefully you’ve enjoyed this article on hiding speaker solutions. I’m quite sure that there are even more out there, (let’s be honest, there’s some really creative people) but these are just a few of the top ways you can hide any unsightly wires. If you have any questions at all, don’t hesitate to ask.

Until next time, make it easy, keep it simple.




Micro LED VS OLED

Micro LED VS OLED

Micro LED VS OLED

Micro LED VS OLED

I know I say this a lot, but this truly is going to be an interesting one. Folks, today we have Micro LED vs OLED!

Chances are you may not be familiar with the former, (or even the latter for that matter) but just know that it’s extremely exciting since it’s being fabled as the one display technology that could be crowned the new visual king.

What makes it even more interesting is the fact it’s not out yet!

Yes you heard that right. As of right now, micro led isn’t commercially just yet — though I do think that we will start to see some of these displays in a year or two.

That’s just my thoughts since it remains to be seen when the first fully integrated, commercial displays are mass released.

What we can do however, is look at the experiences of insiders & people who have seen it, as well as how it works, to get a sort of general idea of how it might compare along with some general thoughts on it as a whole.

Hopefully that makes sense.

Believe me, when it’s commercially available, I’ll undoubtedly purchase one to give you guys an idea of whether or not it’s worth it, but for right now, we’ll have to go off of what other experts have experienced thus far.

 

What Is OLED & How Does It Work?

 

The Benefits & Drawbacks Of OLED

 

What Is Micro LED & How Does It Work?

 

The Benefits & Drawbacks Of Micro LED

 

What Are People Saying About Micro LED?

 

Which One Do I Think Will Be Better?

 

When Will Micro LED Be Available?

 

Final Thoughts

 




 

What Is OLED & How Does It Work?

Before all of that though, a few may still be shaky on what exactly OLED is, so I’ll go over that first. OLED is actually an acronym that stands for organic light emitting diode.

What does that mean though?

Well it’s basically just a fancier way of saying its a compound capable of producing its own light when given power.

Now the way that it works is actually really cool.

Without getting too in depth, (because it can get pretty complicated) for every pixel, when an electrical current passes through it, it glows a specific color depending on the filter being used for that pixel.

This is where things get really interesting though.

Whereas the average television today uses a backlight to produce a picture; an OLED doesn’t. Instead of a backlight, each individual pixel acts as it’s own backlight in a sense.

So when an electrical current is detected, it happens to light up.

Also unlike a normal display where other nearby pixels light up when one is active, with OLED, each individual pixel acts on it’s own accord.

So when a scene calls for a white object on a black background, only those specific ones are active while the others are completely off.

I did a complete article on OLED if you’re really curious about the nitty gritty on it. https://easyhometheater.net/oled-tv-technology-explained

 

The Benefits & Drawbacks Of OLED

The biggest benefit of this technology is an incredible black level. You’ll often see people touting the importance of black levels in displays, for good reason; the darker the black level of a screen, the more realistic and satisfying the image appears to be.

The crazy thing about OLED is that it has infinite blacks. I mean think about it, what’s darker than a pixel that’s already off? Exactly. So because of that, what you get are images that look incredibly realistic; better than anything you’ve likely seen to date.

To top it off, colors also get noticeable boost in intensity and scope. This 1,2 punch of amazing colors, and incredible black levels is what makes it so well renowned. But that’s not to say it doesn’t have it’s drawbacks as it definitely does.

The first downside has to do with HDR content. When compared with an LED TV with the same content, it doesn’t quite reach the same luminance.

The first time I heard about this I was skeptical, but when I saw it for myself, I certainly did notice it.

Another potential drawback really has less to do with the technology, and more to do with its accessibility if anything.

Given that OLED is time intensive to produce, the price could catch a few people off guard when comparing similarly sized displays. I will say it has become more mainstream in recent years, so that’s certainly helped in that regard.

Screen burn in was also something that use to be an issue. The good news is that this was typically an issue with earlier sets, so it’s not really much of a problem anymore.

Still though, I wouldn’t necessarily leave static images on the screen for hours at a time or anything, just to be on the safe side.

That’s a common cause for burn in with things like a logo on screen for example, remaining in the same spot for hours at a time.

So while not nearly as prevalent as this issue once was, it’s still best to not have the same non moving element on screen for extended periods of time.




 

What is Micro LED & How Does It Work?

Now when it comes to Micro LED, (MLEDfor short) you’ll be really surprised to know that it’s been around for a little while now. In fact, Sony even released a TV back in 2010 dubbed “Crystal LED Display” which was the first to utilize it.

(If you’re curious about the history and technical aspects of how it works, you can read more about that here)https://www.ledinside.com/outlook/2016/8/overview_of_micro_led_history_and_current_developments

The more general question though is what is it?

Well think of it this way. You know how the typical display has some sort backlighting system that it uses to display an image?

Imagine instead, that you had a tiny backlight for every single pixel there is.

Sounds like it’d be pretty awesome right?

Well as luck would have it , that’s exactly what it is. Rather than using utilizing the more conventional lighting system, every single pixel has its own one.

What that means is only the pixels that need to be on for a given scene are, while the others remain off. This offers a level of precision that’s unprecedented.

 

The Benefits Of Micro LED

So of course with that, there are some serious, noteworthy benefits afforded here as well.

Infinite Black Levels

 

As I’ve mentioned earlier, black level is one of the most important metrics of a quality display. The darker the black levels, the better. Why? Because this is what gives a scene that realism factor.

Have you ever seen a television that looked somewhat washed out?

Well besides being calibrated wrong, it’s also likely that that set had poor black levels.

You won’t have that issue with this tech, since it has an infinite black level. That means it can’t get any darker than this, which overall means you’re going to be getting some seriously impressive images.

 

More Accurate Images

Due to the fact that each pixel acts independently of one another, that means that only the ones that need to be on for a scene will be. The rest will remain off until they’re needed.

This is extremely similar to OLED in that regard.

Because of that, scenes in whatever is being viewed will look far more realistic. On top of that, this also negates an issue with typical LED panels called light bleed.

This is where parts of the picture become illuminated that shouldn’t be, resulting in uneven picture quality.

Pixel by pixel accuracy also helps with appropriate color accuracy as well, providing for a more vibrant yet lifelike image.

 

Brighter Picture Than OLED

This is something that is definitely interesting to think about. OLED, as remarkable as it is, doesn’t always seem to get as bright sometimes when it comes to HDR content.

Though due to its infinite contrast ratio from its infinite blacks, in normal lighting conditions you may not notice the difference between in 2 in vibrancy. It’s really typically when there’s a brighter environment where this difference becomes even more apparent

Micro LED on the other hand, was supposedly developed with both of these factors in mind.

So hypothetically, it should offer a brighter picture than the former when it comes to that type of content; much like the current excellent display technology QLED, while also keeping the infinite contrast ratio of OLED as well.

This brightness level is measured in nits and ideally, it’s recommended that for optimal HDR, a display should reach at least 1000 nits.

While some LED displays can do this and sometimes more, they often lack the black levels and color depth that OLEDs have.

Micro LED then can have the best of both, with a much higher brightness and the same black levels.




 

 

The Drawbacks

As you can imagine, there’s also a few drawbacks to keep in mind as well. While these could be thought of as temporary issues, they’re still issues that are present right now nonetheless.

 

Time Intensive

Being that an LED has to be supplied for every pixel, this is where the problem arises. Doing so takes a large amount of time & effort just for a smaller screen. For a larger display like a TV or monitor, it takes exponentially more.

On top of that, the smaller the display, the harder it is to create since the LEDs have to be smaller due to there being less space overall. Developers have yet to come up with a more efficient way to create them.

 

The Cost

This pretty much ties in with the first point. Because of how much time it takes to create one of these displays, the cost when producing these panels can also be a factor for manufacturers.

These screens aren’t common when it comes to home use, but I’d imagine we’ll inevitably see these become more widespread.

 

Thoughts About Micro LED

Talks about the actual technology have been overwhelmingly positive for the most part. They’re saying that it could potentially take on OLED from what they’ve seen so far. But it’s also important to keep in mind that this tech is in the prototype stage and not finalized.

That just means it’s not possible to speak on it definitively until the final product is out. Here’s an article that rounds up some of the top industry leaders’ opinion on it thus far. https://www.ledinside.com/news/2017/12/what_industry_professionals_say_about_micro_led

Samsung even had their first venture into the mix with a 146 inch TV dubbed as “The Wall”

 

 

Which One Do I Think Will Be Better?

OLED TV Technology Explained

So, which of the two do I think will be better?

To be honest with you, I’d have to say I’m torn for a number of reasons. I say that because I personally have an OLED screen, so I know how incredible it looks. But at the same time, here’s a newcomer that checks all the boxes that should hypothetically be superior.

Yet therein lies the problem, I haven’t personally seen it yet with my own eyes to speak with certainty. I mean it does have infinite blacks like OLED, while being able to achieve a higher brightness, so I technically think it should be able to edge it out when it comes to picture quality.

But the fact that a single Micro LED screen is so hard to mass manufacture compared to other TVs makes me a little hesitant to start calling this the new golden standard.

Until they figure out a way to create them more efficiently, it’s hard to determine how things will go.

Even when it comes to viewing HDR content, my QLED TV is comparable to my OLED when it comes to peak brightness and color volume so I think  MLED would expound upon this even further.

 

When Will Micro LED Be Available?

Even though we’ve seen prototypes of micro led in things like “The Wall,” (with the consumer version initially planned to launch this year) industry leaders have been vague in regards to when they’ll be commercially at smaller sizes.

LG launched a 163 inch display for signage purposes and luxury homes in 2020, and Samsung is releasing a 99 inch & 110 inch in March, with a smaller 88 inch version later that fall.

There’s was even a 76 inch as well.

So that does show manufacturers are at least working out how to release this new technology on a mass scale.

Only time will tell how long it’ll take to actually catch on with the masses; but once it does, then we’ll no doubt be in for a treat when it comes to implementation of this technology with our favorite content.

If I had to take a guess, it’ll at least be at least 5, maybe even 6 years at the max before we start to see these displays widely catching on.

Until the manufacturing process is perfected, it just won’t be something that’s commercially viable unfortunately.

https://www.tomsguide.com/news/samsungs-microled-tvs-just-hit-a-major-roadblock

 

Final Thoughts

So here we have Micro LED vs OLED, two somewhat similar technologies with two radically different approaches.

One is already available, while the other has yet to see the light of day. While I’m unable to say which is better at the moment, I will say that I have a feeling that given they perfect the yielding issues, Micro LED should be able to come out on top.

But then again who knows. Guess we’ll have to revisit this rematch when it releases I suppose.

Until next time, make it easy, keep it simple.




What Is A Wide Color Gamut Monitor?

A picture of a bird on a wide color gamut display

What Is A Wide Color Gamut Monitor?

A picture of a bird on a wide color gamut monitor

It’s likely you’ve heard of these before, so it’s only appropriate that we address it now; what is a wide color gamut monitor?

Well for starters, you could say it’s the future. It takes everything we know about our current screens, and ramps it up to 11.

Now the concept of color is one of those little things in life that’s often taken for granted. I mean think about it, when was the last time you wondered how it’s possible that we can perceive color?

Exactly.

Unless you happen to be an artist or into digital photography, it’s just not something that would really cross the average person’s mind. But the reality is we’re one of the few lucky few beings on the planet capable of visualizing the entirety of the color spectrum.

With that being said, how much of the spectrum do you think current television sets and monitors are able to display? 90 percent?

80?

Surprisingly it’s a number much lower than that. The fact is, standard displays are only capable of producing 16,777,216 colors out of potential billions!

So it’s obvious that we’re missing out on a huge amount of visual information. Knowing this, industry leaders have managed to come out with displays that can reproduce a majority of those missing colors, giving a much more vibrant and life-like image. How exactly do these work though, and better yet, should you get one?

Let’s find out!

 

How We Interpret Color

 

How Do Standard Color Displays Work?

 

How Do Wide Color Gamut Monitors Work?

 

The Advantages Of Wide Color

 

The Disadvantages Of Wide Color

 

What Is the Best Wide Color Computer Monitor?

 

What Is The Best Wide Color Television?

 

Should You Calibrate?

 

Final Thoughts

 

 




 

How We Interpret Color

So to really understand these new displays, it would only make sense to understand how we see colors in the first place.

To start, a typical screen makes use of red green & blue pixels.

With that, and the interesting thing is, a variety of colors is able to be created from just those 3 which is pretty cool to think about.

For example by adding the right amount of red and blue together, it allows them create magenta. If you add them all together in a certain way, you could create a different color, and so on.

By utilizing different combinations for each pixel, what you ultimately get is a full picture. The technical side of it is talked about more here if curious. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/RGB_color_space#Intuition

But here’s the real question though; why red, green, and blue of all colors?

Well the answer to that has to do with how we as humans see. In each of our eye balls, we have what are known as rods and cones.

Basically in those, we have 3 different types of proteins in our eyes that allows for you guessed it, seeing red blue, and green.

This is what is known as trichromatic vision (tri meaning 3, and chromatic relating to colors)

https://www2.palomar.edu/anthro/primate/color.htm

Due to this, manufacturers originally decided that using these 3 would make the most sense since our vision is based off of this trio. The rest as they say, is history.

 

How Do Standard Color Displays Work?

Now believe it or not, there are different color models in existence as well; ranging from things like CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, & black) used for printing, and Adobe RGB  for digital editing which uses a greater variation between the primary colors.

But for the average monitor or display, sRGB is the widely accepted standard (with the s meaning standard) This is then implemented with what is known as 8 bit color depth.

Think of a bit as stored information, and depth as how many colors it can render.

The more bits you have, the more information you can store. So without making this too complicated (because it can get pretty in depth), if you have the standard 8 bit color, there’s 256 colors with regard to each red, green, & blue value, or 16,777,216 total possible colors overall.

This is also known as Rec. 709. More on that here if you’re curious about the science behind it. https://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/bit-depth.htm

Over 16 million colors sounds like a lot though right? Well the problem is, even with the potential of displaying that many, there are still millions more that aren’t represented.

That brings us to the next topic at hand..




 

How Do Wide Color Gamut Monitors Work?

Wide Color! Cool.. what is it?

Besides being commonly referred to as Rec.2020, think of wide color as any device capable of displaying more than the usual 16 million colors. They were introduced with the intention of improving overall the viewing experience by ways of offering colors unable to be shown prior.

Now it’s important to keep in mind that when the term wide color gamut is mentioned, what is typically being inferred is 10 bit color; more specifically DCI-P3. That’s the standard that wide gamut displays mainly use right now.

While Rec2020 is the golden standard technically, it’s also indicative of the entirety of the visible color spectrum, which is something that our current technology isn’t quite up to snuff with just yet at least widespread.

So when you see screens that tout 100 percent color accuracy, they’re often talking about within the DCI-P3 spectrum, not necessarily Rec2020. Though this may change as technology becomes more advanced.

But still, 10 bit is certainly nothing to scoff at. Remember how I previously said that 8 bit screens were capable of displaying 256 possible colors for each red, green, & blue pixel?

Well in the case of 10 bit, this is bumped up 64 times to 1024. So If there’s 1024 for each possible pixel, that means there’s a total of 1,073,741,824 colors. That’s over a billion, which is absolutely insane!

What’s even crazier is the fact that an even newer, lesser talked about format exists called 12 bit color.

With this, the total is bumped up to an even more impressive 68 billion.

Yeah, absolutely incredible.

By now, you’re probably wondering what the point of that many colors even is to begin with, so let’s get to the numerous advantages that a wide color monitor does have to offer.

 

The Advantages Of Wide Color

#1 More Overall Colors

Obviously the jump from 16 million to over a billion colors is an extremely big leap in terms of capability. So with this many to choose from, images are able to be much more vibrant and dynamic than they ever could be before.

Take it from somebody who has one already; if the TV is properly optimized, it can make a big difference visually.

 

#2 More Accurate Colors

This is a picture of a desert

Truth be told, I think this is the biggest draw when it comes to a wide gamut display; accuracy. With 10 or 12 bits of color as opposed to 8, the amount of visual information they can relay is improved tenfold.

In other words, the screens utilizing this technology are incredibly more accurate than before since there’s more hues and shades to choose from per pixel.

What do you get as a result of this?

Images that are much more realistic and true to life. So for example if there’s a scene with a rainforest, instead of using 100 shades of green, it might be able to use 1000 shades of green just for that particular tree.

Come to think of it, it’s actually similar to HDR in that regard; in that colors are much more nuanced and gradated.

That brings us to the next advantage..




 

#3 Less Banding Resulting In Smoother Images

An example of color banding in a TV

It’s hard to convey what banding looks like without seeing it for yourself, but I’ll give you an idea by offering an analogy.

Let’s say you have a scene where there’s a blue sky that goes from light blue, to dark blue.

Now in person, that transition from light to dark would look gradual right?

Well imagine that instead of that smooth transition, there was a distinctive separation between each shade of blue. This is where the term banding comes from. Instead of one cohesive image, there are separate bands of a similar color that make up the picture.

This is actually what is happening on the average screen.

With wide color however, there are plenty more shades to choose from so that change has a lot more gradation and nuance.

It also happens to be why 4K and HDR pair so well together with it since that combination of additional pixels and additional color gives you a supremely clean image.

 

The Disadvantages Of Wide Color

Of course, there are certain drawbacks that you should aware of as well should you be interested in getting one for yourself.

 

#1 Sensitive Eyes May Find It Uncomfortable

Due to the fact there’s a lot more dynamism introduced, images will be dramatically more lifelike and colorful.

However that could be part of the problem for some people. If you have really sensitive eyes, or you’re not particularly used to it, chances are you may not like it.

For people with really sensitive eyes, it could run the risk of coming off as a bit too much so keep that in mind if that sounds like you.

This could also be exacerbated in relation to the amount of blue light exposure you’re getting as well.

https://easyhometheater.net/is-blue-light-harmful-to-the-eyes

 

 

#2 Things Originally Recorded With RGB In Mind May Look Odd On The New Format

This isn’t something of a certainty since it’ll honestly depend on the content, the display, and that individual’s eyes.

But do keep in mind that with one of these new displays, there is a chance that old content may look a little off or even odd.

I never personally noticed that at all, but again, everyone’s different.




 

What Is the Best Wide Color Computer Monitor?

Winner: LG 27MD5KB-B Ultrafine 27″

 

So with all of this, let’s say you were interested in getting a new extended color monitor (because even a quality desktop monitor is a part of home theater which I’ll be covering in later articles)

Which one would be the best to get?

If I had to recommend just one, it’d probably be the LG 27MD5KB-B Ultrafine 27″

I seriously couldn’t say enough good things about this one, it’s really that good. Besides supporting awesome picture clarity, it also has 10 bit support as well.

That means you’re getting over a billion colors and the support of a wide color gamut with this one; so movies, shows, etc. will be incredibly immersive and enjoyable.

It even has wide viewing angles, meaning people off to the side of the display won’t suffer from a degradation in picture quality.

It’s also 27 inches in total, which is pretty big for a computer screen.

Even for gamers, it has a fast response time which makes games feel much more responsive and fluid.

All of this makes for an all around amazing performer.

 

LG 27MD5KB-B Ultrafine 27″

 

 

What Is The Best Wide Color Television?

Winner: Samsung 65-Inch Class QLED 4K Q80C Series

Now if we switch over to the TV side, that’s a tough one. All things considered, I’d have to say one of them is definitely the SAMSUNG 65-Inch Class QLED 4K Q80C Series

This is a particularly unique television in that it uses what are known as quantum dots.

To put it briefly, quantum dots are microscopic particles that glow a certain color when light is shined through them.

By applying these to every single pixel, you basically get a display capable of a lot more vibrancy and accuracy.

I did an entire article on it if you’re curious about that. https://easyhometheater.net/what-is-samsung-qled-technology

Simply put, this is one of the best TVs I’ve ever seen. The image quality is just impeccable.

Then on top of that, you of course get the standard features you’d expect from a high quality set like high dynamic range and UHD.

If you’re in the market for a top of the line TV, this is certainly a solid choice.

Samsung 65-Inch Class QLED 4K Q80C Series

 

 

Should You Calibrate?

So after you’ve gotten you’re new screen, you’ll definitely want to calibrate it or at least optimize it. If you don’t, the colors will may be off, and it might not show the full capabilities of the display.

Now there are a few ways to do this, so if you’re on a PC, here’s a helpful guide detailing that.

If you plan on doing most of your watching on a television however, then you’ll want to check this out since I did a separate article on that as well. https://easyhometheater.net/how-to-calibrate-your-tv

 

Final Thoughts

Hopefully with all of this being said, you now have an understanding of what a wide color gamut monitor actually is.

While it certainly hasn’t around for too long, they’ve undoubtedly left their mark as this technology is already being touted as the next eventual standard in video formatting.

That is until the potential emergence and adoption of Micro LED technology or even 8K!

It remains to be seen whether this will be the case though. But with all the ineffable benefits they do offer, I can’t see why they wouldn’t be at some point at least.

So with that, it’s exciting to think about what may come next when it comes to visual technology.

That just about does it for now though.

Until next time; make it easy, keep it simple.




8K TV Is Coming

8K TV Is Coming

Oh boy is this is going to be an interesting one. So remember before how I was saying that TV technology seems to advance at a rate that’s nearly impossible to keep up with? Well that’s proving to be truer & truer every single day.

I mean think about it; just within the last 5 years even, we’ve seen the likes of 4K, High Dynamic Range, IMAX Enhanced and extended color go from publicly unknown, to essentially mainstream in the blink of an eye.

What makes it even more surprising is the fact that these aren’t minor upgrades either; each one is a groundbreaking advancement in it’s own right.

However when combined, together they provide for an experience that transcends explanation.

So with that, you would think industry leaders have pretty much done it all when it comes to display technology right?

Well…..not exactly.. because here’s the thing; 8K TV is coming.

(cue the angry mob)

 

 

The History Of 8K

As hard as this may be to believe, the thought of expanding to 8k resolution started as early as 1995 by the company NHK. For those of you unaware, NHK is a Japanese company that places an incredible amount of emphasis on innovation.

Because of this and unbeknownst to most, they’ve been at the forefront of technology for quite some time now. Be it 3D audio, high resolution cameras, etc, they were always one of the firsts to conceptualize it. However creating a concept, and actually executing an idea are obviously 2 different things.

So even though work started in 1995, it wasn’t until 2002 where it was first demoed (which is still really early)

2007 was the year where things really started to materialize as it was finally standardized as an official video format by SMPTE (Society Of Motion Picture & Television Engineers) with the interface later being standardized in 2010.

Here’s a full timeline on 8K if curious. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8K_resolution#History

 

 

What Is 8K TV?

So with all this talk of 8K, what exactly is it?

Well to put it simply, 8K is a resolution that consists of 7680 pixels horizontally, and 4320 pixels vertically.

Basically you can think of it as having 4 times the total pixels of current 4K TVs, and a whopping 16 times the resolution of HDTVs.

It’s twice the resolution of 4K.

To give you an idea of how high of a resolution that is, you could hypothetically take an in 8K image, do a 2x zoom, and still have a 4K image.

Talk about a lot!

 

 

Why Is 8K Necessary?

If you haven’t witnessed 8K for yourself, it’s likely that you’d be poised to think of this high a resolution as a bit much.

While I would have to partially agree with you (at least for now) there’s actually a surprising number of real world benefits where 8K would actually be a welcome addition.

 

Reason #1 : Pixels Become Invisible Even Close Up

One really big advantage to having a screen resolution this high is that individual pixels become indecipherable to the human eye, even when viewed close up. A common issue with larger displays is that the larger you go, the blurrier an image gets at the same distance.

The reason for this can be attributed to the fact that the same ratio of pixels get spread over a much wider area as you go up in size.

What 8K would allow for is bigger screens having a much higher pixel density; dramatically improving picture clarity and detail all around since there’d be more pixels to better represent the nuanced details in the image.

That’s a major win, especially if movie theaters were to ever adopt the format. Going to the movies would be an entirely different experience all together if that happens.

 

 

Reason #2 : Better Quality 1080P/4K

Another thing that you may not be aware of is that 8K could give a measurable clarity boost to current 1080p and 4K resolutions.

How?

Through something called down sampling. To put it simply, down sampling is a method where something is recorded at a higher resolution and then formatted to be played at a lower one.

By doing this, a lot of the original information of that higher resolution is kept.

As a result, the final image, along with other small details, are made much clearer than they would be otherwise at that same resolution.

By recording content at 8K, 4K (and even 1080p) movies would look dramatically better than they already do.

The best part about it is you wouldn’t even need an 8K screen to benefit since film directors/engineers would be the ones to record it and format for current displays.

https://www.techradar.com/news/8k-tv-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-futuristic-resolution

 

 

Reason #3 : True 4k Virtual Reality

First off if you’ve never tried virtual reality, I’d highly recommend it; it’s mind blowing. But a common restraint on the technology as it sits currently is that it simply can’t provide a high enough resolution to give a 1 for 1 likeness with real life.

This is because the pixel density that exists in current headsets comes up short since it has to be divided between both eyes. This is how it creates that sense of full immersion.

The problem with this though is that it can result in the image quality appearing grainy due to the lack in resolution, and can sometimes attribute to what’s known as the screen door effect.

Like the name suggests, it’s an occurrence that sometimes afflicts VR headsets where it feels like you’re looking at things through a screen door.

Even with a bump to 4K VR (which surprisingly exists) that feeling of clarity still isn’t there since it has to again, be divided between 2 eyes; effectively making it 2K.

With a massive jump to 8K, true 4k virtual reality would be made (for lack of a better term) a reality since you would be getting the full 3840×2160 per eye.

This would not only help mitigate the screen door effect, but also make the experience feel that much more immersive as a whole because of that increase in clarity.

As an interesting sidenote that shows this isn’t too far away, the company Intel even streamed the 2020 Olympics (delayed until 2021) in 8K VR over 5G.

Whether 8K resolution VR becomes more commonplace remains to be seen, but it just goes to show that 8K isn’t as far off as one might think.

https://www.tweaktown.com/news/61007/intel-5g-promises-8k-360-degree-video-tokyo-2020-olympics/index.html

 

 

Reason #4 : Improvements In Photography & Video Editing

Something interesting to note is that 8K cameras are actually already technically available.

Like most technology that usually start as limited tech demos before becoming commercially viable years later, they aren’t as mainstream as 4K cameras as of right now, but they do exist.

The question is what benefits does 8K bring when it comes to photography?

Well a major benefit for photographers is that 8K would offer more true to life images with impeccable amounts of visible detail that might be otherwise lost at a lower resolution.

This is also especially helpful for those not only interested in editing photos, but in video editing as well since the increase in resolution helps with bringing out additional details in the frame that wouldn’t otherwise be as noticeable.

This can also help with being more accurate as well.

For example, lines that were blurry before would now appear clear, allowing you to more accurately edit your image the way you wanted.

Here’s an interesting article on that if you were interested in that aspect of it. https://nofilmschool.com/2018/02/beauty-8k-large-format

 

 

Reason #5 : More Realistic Images

Here’s something you may not have realized, humans can decipher image resolutions higher than 4K. In fact, human vision has been said to be the equivalent of…(drum roll) 8K!

8K seems to be the upper echelon of what we can accurately distinguish; anything higher reaches a point of diminishing returns.

So with a resolution this high, content will finally be able to closely match our own visual acuity.

This would allow for content to feel even more immersive as it would closely mirror how we’d see things if we were actually there.

More on that here if curious.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/msid.1072

 

 

 

Reason #6 : Better Color Accuracy

A picture of a color gradient across the sky

The dramatic increase in resolution that 8K provides also has increased benefits for color accuracy as well.

Due to the fact that there’s many more pixels to represent a given image on screen, images can be more more lifelike because of the fact that there’s more pixels to better display the subtle changes in color and hue.

Think about it; instead of having 1 pixel to display the color blue for example, you now have 4 pixels for that same color as opposed to one.

This allows for much more subtly in color gradiation and helps to minimize banding even when compared with a 4K resolution; thus giving a more vibrant and believable image.

 

http://www.insightmedia.info/8k-tvs-top-tv-line-ups-for-a-reason/

 

 

 

When Will 8K Be Available?

Here’s the real question, when will it be available?! The answer to that is a little complicated since it technically is and isn’t available at the same time.

The reason I say that is because on one hand, there are already companies like Dell and Nikon that sell 8K monitors & cameras available to the public right now. I mean heck, even Sony demoed their own 8K TV back in 2018.

Samsung even has their own commercial line of 8K televisions now which supports Samsung’s QLED technology; so no doubt they’ll look incredible; especially considering others already sung the praises of an earlier model.

https://www.pocket-lint.com/tv/reviews/samsung/145989-samsung-8k-tv-review-q900-led-85in

 

Even on the projector side of things, there’s 8K projectors that exist.

The issue with all of that being said though, is that the mass switch from 1080p to 4k broadcasting hasn’t even happened yet (though that actually is in the works finally)

Until the switch to ATSC 3.0 is finalized (which is the name of the switch to 4K resolution cable) and they can then turn their attention to 8K, we won’t see it for quite a while.

The infrastructure has to be built for it, which will definitely take time to say the least.

Until that happens, it’ll remain a far off concept with a lot of promise. Now the thing to keep in mind though, is that the availability of devices, and the availability of content are two completely different things.

If we’re talking about when you’ll be able to buy the first 8K TV or monitor, then you technically can right now since Samsung, LG, Sony, and even DELL already have them available for purchase.

Even the new Xbox Series X and Playstation 5 have 8K support which is pretty incredible, especially from a gamer perspective.

But if you’re wondering when 8K will go mainstream with a good amount of content, then my honest estimation is at the very least a decade.

Some might think it could happen sooner than that, but with the amount of things that would need to be done for that to happen, I can’t see that as a valid possibility. I’d love to be wrong though, because it’s an amazing idea.

But the fact remains that the networks still haven’t fully switched to even 4K.

So as much as I want it to be a major format sooner due to what it has to offer, it’s more likely than not that it won’t happen for a good 10 or so years in my opinion.

 

 

Final Thoughts

While I actually have yet to see 8K in person, I have personally seen 5k and 6K.

Truth be told, It was nothing short of absolutely amazing. So to picture something even higher than that is hard to wrap my mind around honestly.

In any case, while it may not be as soon as we’d like, it will eventually become the de-facto standard at some point in the distant future. When this does happen, the world of media will be drastically different from how it is today.

But the real question is, will this be for the better or worse? Like most things in life, only time will tell.

Just remember, even though it’s not popular now, without a doubt 8K TV is coming.