If you’re in the market for a new television, the big differentiator this year will be how well a TV can handle High Dynamic Range, or HDR, content.
HDR is designed to show brighter images with more detail in both the darkest and brightest parts of a scene. Plenty of TVs on the market say they’re HDR-capable, but that won’t give you an indication of how well they actually perform.
“It’s one reason Consumer Reports is spending a lot of time right now testing HDR performance. Because there are some TVs that can deliver all the excitement of HDR and there are others that say they support HDR but look no different from a TV that doesn’t have that feature,” explained Jim Willcox, Consumer Reports tech editor.
Another difference between the TVs that do HDR well and those that don’t is the price.
“In our testing there are some exceptions, but what we found is you’re going to have to pay a little bit more to get really good HDR performance,” said Willcox.
The show or movie you watch needs to be shot and transmitted in HDR for the feature to work.
And nowadays, more HDR content is being offered, especially by streaming services like Netflix and Amazon, which is why buying a TV with good HDR performance is so important.
When it comes to the top rated televisions, Consumer Reports recommends the 65-inch LG 65SK9000PUA for $2,000.
If you need a smaller TV, the 55-inch TCL 55R617 for $800 is a Consumer Reports Best Buy.
