What They Won’t Tell You About TVs At The Store

It’s Sunday and you’ve just settled with the morning newspaper and your cup of tea. A full page advertisement for TVs and other consumer electronics catches your eye. The prices are attractive, and you’ve been eyeing that fancy large TV on your friend’s living room wall for quite a while. You turn pages, more ads for TVs while prices seem to be getting better and better. The new models have a lot of features. You realise that your own old faithful TV is now past its prime. But you can’t seem to make sense of the terminology.

After breakfast, you visit the local store where the salesperson leaves you further befuddled, merely parroting the terms Full HD, UHD, 1080p and so on. Since the prices are vastly different, you are unable to make up your mind and since the salesman can’t and won’t explain the meaning of these terms, you leave in confusion.

Below are two typical ads for TVs that routinely appear in every Sunday newspaper, in this case picked out of the Mumbai Mirror. I have attempted to explain the terminology in simple terms, so that next time you walk into a Croma or a Vijay Sales showroom, to see TVs, you can make an informed choice.

In The Beginning

Going back a bit, towards the end of the 2000s or the noughties, digital TV became popular and TV format changed from SDTV (Standard Definition TV) which used 576 interlaced lines of resolution, to the substantially better HDTV (High Definition TV). HDTV came with 1080 horizontal lines scanned progressively from top to bottom every 1/60^th second. This was a step forward from interlaced scanning where every alternate line was scanned or displayed every 1/30^th of a second and the entire picture had to be scanned twice, in order to see the full picture.

Full HD, HDTV and 1080p

HDTV brought vastly improved picture quality. Manufacturers also started writing 1080p (1080 lines progressively scanned), which are really one and the same thing. Interlaced scanning is no longer used for TVs, so if you see 1080i, you should know that it is out of date. Further, HDTV and Full HD are also the same thing.

Each of the 1080 horizontal lines was divided into 1980 pieces, each piece being known as a pixel. Thus, the picture was divided into 1080x1980 or around 2 million pixels. In addition, HDTV brought in a wider aspect ratio of 16:9, meaning that viewers could enjoy a wider screen.

4K, UHD and Super UHD

Just when you thought you’d got your mind around it, along came newer jargon: 4K and UHD or Ultra High Definition. This is a step up from HDTV.

What UHD gives you is better clarity and a sharper picture on account of a much larger number of pixels having been crammed into the same space, four times more to be precise, as compared to HDTV. How it does this is, by increasing the number of horizontal lines from 1080 to 2160 and the vertical lines from 1920 to 3840. This gives you 3840x2160 = 8.3 million pixels working to make a sharp picture for you.

This is most noticeable on a large screen, where it makes sense to have UHD, in order to get a sharper picture, else the picture may get ‘pixellated’, that is you would see pixels, were the original resolution retained.

Besides the fact that you can see a better picture, you can in fact see the TV from a closer range. Hence, even in a relatively small room, you can have a large TV.

Super UHD is no different from UHD and the term only came in because some manufacturers started advertising their UHD products as “Super”.

HDR (High Dynamic Range)

While the 4K UHD TV gives you more pixels, an HDR TV can do a lot more with those pixels.

Contrast is measured as the difference between the brightest whites and the darkest blacks that the TV can display, also known as its Dynamic Range. It is measured in candelas/m², also known as ‘nits’. At the deep dark end is 0 nits, which is completely black, currently possible on OLED (more about that later) TVs.

On the brighter side, it’s a different story. Standard Dynamic Range (SDR) TVs generally produce 300 to 500 nits. This is where the HDR TV scores big. Top end HDR TVs, can display northwards of 2000 nits of peak brightness.

As a matter of fact, at the Consumer Electronics Show 2018, Sony showed off a prototype capable of a whopping 10000 nits of peak brightness.

Dolby Vision®

While there are multiple HDR formats, there are currently two major players: Dolby Vision from Dolby Labs and the HDR 10 open standards. Dolby was the first to introduce Dolby Vision and for some time, HDR meant Dolby Vision only.

Any manufacturer wishing to produce HDR TV had to approach Dolby and pay them a royalty and comply with their terms and conditions. Since this was restrictive, various manufacturers began working on alternatives.

By 2016, the UHD Alliance, an industry group comprising LG, Sony, Panasonic, Dolby and others introduced an HD Premium certification for UHD Blu Ray players. This set the baseline industry standards for HDR (currently minimum 1000 nits).

OLED (Organic LED) Displays

The earlier LCD screens required a set of LEDs behind the liquid crystals on the display, in order to light up the screen as the LCD by itself did not emit light. Flat Light Emitting Technology was made possible by placing a series of organic thin films between two conductors. OLEDs are emissive displays, hence they don’t require back lighting. The result is that OLED displays are substantially thinner than LCD displays.

OLEDs produce the best image quality and can also be transparent, flexible, foldable and even rollable. OLEDs give you a number of things that LCDs cannot viz. greater contrast, higher brightness, fuller viewing angle, a wider colour range and lower power consumption.

And no, OLEDs have nothing to do with organic food. They are organic because they are made from carbon and hydrogen. They contain no bad metals. Examples of mobile phones using OLEDs are Galaxy S8, S8+, iphone X and Note 8.

QLED (Quantum Dot LED)

Quantum Dots are tiny particles between 2 and 10 Nanometres in dia. They have the ability to give off different colours according to their size. The advantage is that they are capable of emitting brighter, more vibrant and more diverse colours – the kind of colours that can really make HDR shine.

Unlike OLED TVs, which require a separate backlight for illumination, QLED TV controls the light emitted by various pixels, so that better contrast ratios are possible.

ThinQ® - LG’s Artificial Intelligence technology

ThinQ is a brand from LG that groups together premium appliances and consumer electronics under one banner. Products that carry the ThinQ brand will be intelligent and able to communicate with one another and employ LG’s own deep learning tech, in order to understand your habits and needs.

Products with ThinQ will employ other companies’ Assistant Technology eg. LG is releasing an updated version of its Instaview refrigerator with Amazon Alexa Support, which has the ability to talk to connected ovens and even dishwashers.

That’s it for TVs, more about mobile phones later.

The Naval Sword

The Navy is the only branch of India’s Armed Forces that continues to have a sword as part of an officer’s uniform. Although Army officers do wear swords on parades, it is rare to see an army officer wearing a sword off the parade ground. Since the Indian Navy is closely linked to the British Royal Navy (RN) insofar as uniforms and ceremonial are concerned, one would have to delve into the RN’s history to understand the evolution of the Naval Sword. Indeed, even the US Navy uses swords that are a minor variation of the RN model.

Origins

Swords began their time on board ships since the invention of the weapon. Naturally the higher in status a mariner was, the better weapon he would be expected to possess. In particular, the “mark of a gentleman” for many hundreds of years in British society was the sword, probably dating from the days of knightly vows where the knight’s sword was his most prized and revered weapon. 

It was the sword that made him a knight, after all, in the ceremony in which he was “dubbed” by tapping him on both shoulders with the naked blade. His honour, therefore was attached to the sword.

Officers were first granted a uniform in 1748, however no regulations regarding the wearing of swords was detailed.   At this time officers wore their swords from a shoulder belt, something which can be seen in many portraits of officers of the time.

A regulation sword was introduced in 1805 at which time ordered that the sword would be hung from a cavalry-type waist belt, which had two slings of different length, so that the sword trailed on the ground.  It was an elegant if impractical design. It is perhaps relevant to note that at this time appearance was more important that serviceability in uniforms.  A regulation of 1825 stated that sword belts in dress uniform were to be of silk, but that a black leather belt could be worn in undress uniform.

In 1827 a new pattern of sword was introduced and again the regulations for wear were amended, this time by reverting to a shoulder belt, worn under the waistcoat.   Silk sword belts were restricted to wear in the drawing room only.   A black leather belt with a frog to hold the sword was introduced for wear with great coats in 1829.

The regulations were amended again in 1832 with the sword to be worn on a waist belt, suspended from slings of unequal length again.   This was further changed in 1847 when the slings were to be of equal length. This process went on and it was only in 1929 that the present straight, single edged sword with slings of unequal length was finally adopted.

Notwithstanding the evolution, it is remarkable that the sword has survived the upheavals of the twentieth century. The sheathed officer's sword, however, owes its survival to a different reason. As the gentleman's weapon of the 16th 17th, and 18th centuries, it was only natural that it should be incorporated into the naval officer's uniform. The wearing of the sword thus distinguished the well-born "gentleman" from the lower classes, and the naval officer was able to wear a sword as a "gentleman."

Even today, at the commencement of a court martial, an officer’s sword is taken from the accused, and at the end of the trial it signifies whether the officer is guilty or not, by being presented on a table when the person is brought back into court after the presiding board’s deliberations. If found not guilty, the sword hilt is towards the officer, signifying that one’s honour and duty can be taken up again. If guilty, the point is presented. In that case he does not carry the sword when he leaves.

If the officer is acquitted, the sword is returned to him ie his “honour is restored”.

Construction

The naval sword has a blade length of 31” and width at the hilt of 7/8”. The sword has a gold plated brass hilt and hand-guard, with a pommel in the shape of a lion. The grip is white, with fish skin being used in the original versions along with gold wire to secure the grip. The unique feature of the naval sword is the small hinged lip of the guard which can be folded down to engage with a pin on the scabbard. This feature proved most useful to prevent the scabbard falling off when climbing over a shipside, or in stormy weather, and hence preventing embarassment to the wearer!

The material chosen for the blade was high carbon steel, which had greater tensile strength than stainless steel, meaning there were lesser chances of the blade chipping or breaking during engagements. The material currently being used is AISI 1055.

Scabbard - The scabbard was made of rawhide with gold plated brass mounts. Swords used by Flag Officers were similar, but were more ornate with engraving on the brass mounts of the scabbard.

The Naval Knot – The “Knot” was in fact originally a loop of leather or other material secured to the sword hilt. Before an engagement, the swordsman wrapped the loop around his wrist to prevent loss of his weapon, should he need to relax his grip or if the sword were struck from his grasp. From these basic origins, the sword knot has evolved into its present ceremonial and ornamental form.

Swords For Warrant Officers – In 1832, a new pattern with black grips was introduced for Master-At-Arms and Warrant Officers. The other difference was that these ranks “wore” their swords, while officers “carried” their swords.

Carrying of Swords

There was a story circulated at some stage in the early part of the 20^th century, relating to the reason why Naval Officers carried their swords as opposed to Army officers who wore their swords on their belts at their waists. The story was that following some disgrace within the RN, perhaps a mutiny, an order was once given that naval officers could not wear their swords, as they were not gentlemen. Instead, they would have to carry them. It was also rumoured that the order had come from Queen Victoria herself. Eventually, it was firmly stamped as nothing more than a fairy tale and a rumour.

In any case, even the most doubting skeptic would agree that the Monarch could scarcely be expected to do something that would affect the morale of the Navy.

In the 18^th century, military uniforms were at the height of fashion with splendidly dressed cavalry officers among whom the Light Horse were considered the most dashing. To draw attention to themselves while on foot, troopers and officers alike let their spurs jangle and their steel-shod scabbards rattle over the cobblestones. 

This is the origin of the phrase “sabre rattling”, which denotes a swaggering, bullying attitude.

Everyone wore trailing swords, which had to be carried. So it is the case, perhaps, that all military personnel once wore their swords in a hanging fashion, with the slings as long as possible, so as to draw attention to the wearer. 

The army personnel of the world have now lifted their swords to their belts, as no doubt soldiers often had to do for practicality’s sake, with their practice of drill, but the navy still carries theirs, perhaps because they rarely wore swords, and therefore never saw a need to change.

Besides, having a “detached” sword makes it a lot easier to carry while being transported in a small boat.