Technology

(BPT) – What drives you in the search for the perfect PC? Is it premium design and the high-end components? Or are you a performance person where nothing but the best specs will do? And what about price? Do you worry that you’ll have to sacrifice some …

(BPT) – Every day, people use data to influence their decision making – from where to go for dinner, to selecting stocks in which they should invest, to where to live. Every Google search we perform, every Yelp review read or written, each item of clot…

(BPT) – Every day, people use data to influence their decision making – from where to go for dinner, to selecting stocks in which they should invest, to where to live. Every Google search we perform, every Yelp review read or written, each item of clot…

(BPT) – Times have changed. It’s no longer enough to protect your physical home, it’s also vital you stay safe from cybercrimes. It has become increasingly easier for criminals to gain access to financial accounts, email and even hack internet-connecte…

(BPT) – Times have changed. It’s no longer enough to protect your physical home, it’s also vital you stay safe from cybercrimes. It has become increasingly easier for criminals to gain access to financial accounts, email and even hack internet-connecte…

(BPT) – It’s happened to almost everyone: you leave a job and have a retirement account that you are no longer actively contributing to. It sits there for months – maybe years – because you’re not sure exactly where to move it or what the process is li…

(BPT) – It’s happened to almost everyone: you leave a job and have a retirement account that you are no longer actively contributing to. It sits there for months – maybe years – because you’re not sure exactly where to move it or what the process is li…

(BPT) – The technology in our TV sets has changed a lot in the past decade. When it comes time to buy one, it’s easy to lose track of which features matter for a good TV-watching experience.

You might find a TV at a tempting price, but you don’t want to end up wasting money on a picture that blurs at the height of the action, looks distorted from side angles or doesn’t support the latest technology.

At the same time, does the expensive model and its alphabet soup of features really give you a better picture for the price?

“With all the new TVs hitting the market in the next few months, it can be tough to know what to buy and what the numbers mean,” says Katie Linendoll, tech expert, TODAY Show contributor and Emmy Award winner.

Since your TV set is a major source of entertainment for you and your family, it’s important to know what to look for before you start shopping. With Linendoll’s guidance on the latest TV features and technology, you’ll be sure to choose a TV set with the brightness, sharp images and vibrant colors you’re looking for. Because the last thing you want is to get stuck with a TV you’ll regret.

Screen type: OLED or LCD?

For starters, there are only two kinds of TV panel technologies available right now: OLED (pronounced “oh-led”) and LCD.

“OLED technology creates its own light, which means each pixel can be individually controlled and turned on or completely off,” says Linendoll. Plus, OLED delivers over one billion different shades of color — about 64 times the amount of a conventional TV.

Many experts who have performed detailed technical reviews have deemed OLED the best TV tech ever made. Combined with rave reviews and its super-slim design, this tech is worth paying a bit more in price.

Currently, OLED is available in various screen sizes from LG, who led the introduction of the category a few years ago, and Sony announced they will also release several OLED sets later this year.

Unlike OLED, LCD (liquid crystal display) requires a backlight to make the picture. Most of today’s LCD sets use LED lighting. LCD can create a bright, colorful picture but black levels will not be as dark as OLED, and some details can be lost in the shadows.

“This category of TV can still deliver very impressive picture quality, and it’s often very attractively priced,” says Linendoll.

While shopping for an LCD set, it’s important to know major manufacturers have different names for their premium LCD models. You might hear of Q-LED (an LCD TV that uses quantum dot technology) — not to be confused with OLED — as well as Super UHD or XBR.

Brighter, more colorful picture

One big improvement in recent years has been the expansion of color capabilities in TVs. Nano cell and quantum dot technology, for example, are designed primarily to deliver a bigger spectrum of color than conventional LCD sets, creating more realistic-looking pictures.

How does it work? Nano cell, which is only found in LG’s Super UHD TVs, uses extremely small particles (one nanometer in size), which provide more refined and accurate shades of color.

Viewing angles are important

Research shows that only about 10 percent of TV viewers sit directly in front of the TV, so viewing angle is extremely important. Moving even by as little as 10-15 degrees can make colors look washed out and black levels will start to degrade.

OLED TVs have the best performance at wide viewing angles; however, some LCDs, such as LG’s Super UHD sets, use a special LCD type for a wider viewing angle.

Sharper resolution

The more pixels you have, the better the image quality. If you picked up on the buzz about 4K “Ultra HD,” you know these TVs have more than 8 million pixels and display sharper, more lifelike images.

“Most new bigger-screen TVs you’d be considering, including OLED and LCD TVs, are 4K,” says Linendoll. A newer enhancement to 4K is called HDR or high dynamic range, giving you more shadow detail and natural bright highlights.

Be sure the set you’re looking at has 4K resolution and supports HDR; otherwise you will be missing out on what’s quickly becoming the gold standard in TV features.

(BPT) – The technology in our TV sets has changed a lot in the past decade. When it comes time to buy one, it’s easy to lose track of which features matter for a good TV-watching experience.

You might find a TV at a tempting price, but you don’t want to end up wasting money on a picture that blurs at the height of the action, looks distorted from side angles or doesn’t support the latest technology.

At the same time, does the expensive model and its alphabet soup of features really give you a better picture for the price?

“With all the new TVs hitting the market in the next few months, it can be tough to know what to buy and what the numbers mean,” says Katie Linendoll, tech expert, TODAY Show contributor and Emmy Award winner.

Since your TV set is a major source of entertainment for you and your family, it’s important to know what to look for before you start shopping. With Linendoll’s guidance on the latest TV features and technology, you’ll be sure to choose a TV set with the brightness, sharp images and vibrant colors you’re looking for. Because the last thing you want is to get stuck with a TV you’ll regret.

Screen type: OLED or LCD?

For starters, there are only two kinds of TV panel technologies available right now: OLED (pronounced “oh-led”) and LCD.

“OLED technology creates its own light, which means each pixel can be individually controlled and turned on or completely off,” says Linendoll. Plus, OLED delivers over one billion different shades of color — about 64 times the amount of a conventional TV.

Many experts who have performed detailed technical reviews have deemed OLED the best TV tech ever made. Combined with rave reviews and its super-slim design, this tech is worth paying a bit more in price.

Currently, OLED is available in various screen sizes from LG, who led the introduction of the category a few years ago, and Sony announced they will also release several OLED sets later this year.

Unlike OLED, LCD (liquid crystal display) requires a backlight to make the picture. Most of today’s LCD sets use LED lighting. LCD can create a bright, colorful picture but black levels will not be as dark as OLED, and some details can be lost in the shadows.

“This category of TV can still deliver very impressive picture quality, and it’s often very attractively priced,” says Linendoll.

While shopping for an LCD set, it’s important to know major manufacturers have different names for their premium LCD models. You might hear of Q-LED (an LCD TV that uses quantum dot technology) — not to be confused with OLED — as well as Super UHD or XBR.

Brighter, more colorful picture

One big improvement in recent years has been the expansion of color capabilities in TVs. Nano cell and quantum dot technology, for example, are designed primarily to deliver a bigger spectrum of color than conventional LCD sets, creating more realistic-looking pictures.

How does it work? Nano cell, which is only found in LG’s Super UHD TVs, uses extremely small particles (one nanometer in size), which provide more refined and accurate shades of color.

Viewing angles are important

Research shows that only about 10 percent of TV viewers sit directly in front of the TV, so viewing angle is extremely important. Moving even by as little as 10-15 degrees can make colors look washed out and black levels will start to degrade.

OLED TVs have the best performance at wide viewing angles; however, some LCDs, such as LG’s Super UHD sets, use a special LCD type for a wider viewing angle.

Sharper resolution

The more pixels you have, the better the image quality. If you picked up on the buzz about 4K “Ultra HD,” you know these TVs have more than 8 million pixels and display sharper, more lifelike images.

“Most new bigger-screen TVs you’d be considering, including OLED and LCD TVs, are 4K,” says Linendoll. A newer enhancement to 4K is called HDR or high dynamic range, giving you more shadow detail and natural bright highlights.

Be sure the set you’re looking at has 4K resolution and supports HDR; otherwise you will be missing out on what’s quickly becoming the gold standard in TV features.

(BPT) – American’s use of computers has shifted dramatically in the last five years. In the past, desktop computers were the main tools for accessing the Internet and communicating with others. Today, mobile devices like smartphones and tablets are taking over.

The use of mobile devices has skyrocketed, with nearly 7 out of 10 U.S. adults (68 percent) having a smartphone, up from 35 percent in 2011, according to the Pew Research Center. Tablet computer ownership is growing too, with 45 percent of adults owning this type of mobile device.

Mobile devices are popular because they provide instant access to virtually anything a person wants to do. From watching videos to online shopping and interacting on social media, mobile makes any task easy — and it’s all within an arm’s reach.

Along with this move to mobile devices comes a sharp increase in mobile data usage. Many Americans are quickly learning how expensive data on mobile devices can be.

One easy way to control mobile data costs is to connect mobile devices to your Wi-Fi network at home. Simply go into your devices’ settings, select Wi-Fi and make your home connection your default option. Most mobile devices will then automatically connect to your Wi-Fi when at home and reduce your mobile data consumption.

This is a useful technique, but what if you live in one of the 18 million households across the United States that does not have access to “traditional” wired Internet or are stuck with a slow connection?

The best solution for these households is satellite Internet. Hughes, the inventor of satellite Internet, has recently announced their new HughesNet Gen5 service. HughesNet Gen5 is the first and only U.S. satellite Internet service to offer Federal Communications Commission (FCC) defined broadband speeds — 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload — from coast to coast. HughesNet Gen5 high-speed satellite Internet even comes with built-in Wi-Fi making it easy to connect wireless devices at home.

For these 18 million households, HughesNet Gen5 is a major breakthrough, providing speeds much faster than the slow DSL that many of these consumers are currently using.

In addition to fast speeds and built-in Wi-Fi, HughesNet Gen5 also comes with generous, affordable service plans. It is no longer necessary to rely on mobile data at home. Get the most out of your devices with a reliable, high-speed connection. HughesNet Gen5 lets you do more of what you love online, wherever you live. Learn more about HughesNet Gen5 at www.hughesnet.com.