We ’re back and sinally recovered from CES in Las Vegas . And this week , we ’ve got a great deal of great question . Like the emotional journeying of choosing between the Samsung S95C or S90C. Plus Zen and the art of eARC . And why is my ATSC 3.0 tuner slow ? And why ca n’t TVs have all the ports we need ?
TV-buying journey
Jon Accamondo writes : Based on my personal needs and preferences , I have zero in in on the Samsung ( OLED ) as my personal choice , but I am rightfully hung up on whether I load myself to the 95c , or leap on a 90c now . The last thing I want is to spend over $ 2,000 and feel that I settled in any direction . My TV selection have always been thought - out and driven by my sexual love for play and motion picture - observation . I still have a dead wreak Pioneer Kuro Elite plasma in my guest room that still blows me aside all these years later .
I have a life room currently without a TV , and it will plausibly need to stay that way for at least another month or more if I ’m going after the 95c . But if I can finger convinced that the 90c will give me the same experience , I am prepared to deal myself to that model . Do you have any insight that could assist with this dilemma I ’m tied up with ?
As your TV buying advocate , we ’re going to look at this in two room : logically , and emotionally .
Logically speaking , I can severalise you there are three things that separate theS95CandS90COLED TVs . One is the one - connect box you get with the S95C and the resulting slight design . Two is the slightly better audio system you get with the S95C. Three is the more or less higher light of the S95C.
The light and the audio differences are nuanced . The S95C can , in some very limited cases , come off just more or less brighter . I would not take the S95C if it were just down to the brightness difference . I would definitely not buy the S95C just for the audio advance . And , well , you know better than I if the One Connect Box is something you really demand or want . I ’ll say this : You need to need two or more of those three things to really need to buy the S95C. That ’s the hardheaded take .
Now for the emotional take — and I imagine it is authoritative to look at big purchase from this perspective . You wish nice stuff . You get a Pioneer Kuro back when they were outrageously expensive video . And look how much joy it has brought you . You ’re still talking about how much it blows you aside . You probably feel like that was a really worthwhile investing , right ? And I suppose you want to find the same room about this boob tube purchase . And you know what ? I do n’t think my telling you to purchase the S90C instead of the S95C will be the tipping point for you . I cogitate the question of whether you are cutting a corner of some variety – make a sacrifice – will obsess you no matter what I say .
I remember you ’re die to buy the S95C. I recall you ’re going to have to wait a little bit longer . And I remember in your more noetic moments , you know as well as I do that await another month to get what you really require is the right call .
But , hey , if I ’m way off on all that psychological stuff ? bribe the S90C. It ’s a better deal .
ATSC 3.0
Ron writes : I buy an A80L for my mom , and the tuner is really dumb . I consider it was an ATSC 3.0 radio set , which made me wonder : What ’s been going on with ATSC 3.0 , and which TVs still have it ?
First , I ’d love to clarify what you mean by the tuner being slow . Do you intend it ’s deadening to switch from one channel to the next ? Does it take a while to lock in the signaling and then exhibit the image ? Is it slow just to click up from one television channel to another ? Or was it slow to scan all the channels in your area ? Once I know exactly which issue you ’re run across , we can tackle that trouble .
I will say that , so far , there is no benefit I can see toATSC 3.0,but there ’s no real drawback either . It ’s just a bummer that local broadcasters are using ATSC 3.0 to drum more crappy channels into the same space rather than assay to extend 4 potassium broadcasts and well audio .
Oh , and also , LG TVs in 2024 wo n’t have ATSC 3.0tuners built in because of some licensing variance consort with a patent proceeds .
Honestly , I just do n’t care about ATSC 3.0 yet . Seems like a raft of a rollout to me — and that ’s before you get to patent issues that are hold open some manufacturers far aside .
AVR connections
Jeremiah writes : Hi , I ’m new to 4 K idiot box and to the new HDMI , ACR , and e - ARC inputs on devices . I have a question on using 4 K TVs and AVRs . I do n’t plan on using the AVR all the time and only be after on using it on picture show nights with the folk . My devices would be a PS5 , cable length loge , Apple TV , and a dedicated 4 K Blu - ray player . What gimmick would be better snarf to the TV , and which to the AVR ? I have three kids ascertain Apple TV apps throughout the day and did n’t want them to have to ferment on the AVR all the sentence if it was hooked to the AVR first and then out to the idiot box . Also , do you have to wrench on the AVR to pass video recording to the television ? It seems it would be hard on the AVR over time when keep an eye on content .
It would be easier for me to answer your question if you provided your TV model number and AVR good example number . That way , I would know how many HDMI inputs you had , whether or not you hadARC or eARCon which component , and whether your receiver does TV passthrough in standby .
Some newerreceiverswill pass along video through while in standby modal value , which , to most folk , intend they are basically off . Yours may be able-bodied to do this , I do n’t bang . It is a feature of speech that you must enable in some receivers , so look for that feature in the specs tilt for your AVR , and if it can do it , picture out how to verify it is on so you could exceed picture through no matter what you do .
If you have four HDMI input , connect all your machine to your TV and just run oneHDMI cableto your pass catcher using the ARC connections . Not only does this save you a bunch of cabling , but it is simplest for everyone . Just practice the TV to exchange from Apple TV to game console to cable television service to your 4 K disc player .
If you have three HDMI stimulant on your telly , then get in touch the dedicated 4 K Blu - ray of light player to your receiver and everything else to your video . That would be my advice .
Audio outputs
Karl spell : With soundbars not give enough HDMI input signal , why do n’t TV manufacturer put a dedicated HDMI output with audio passthrough on their telecasting and get disembarrass of the digital Toslink outputs ? I have sex about eARC . But with a consecrate HDMI output , the user go along all four dedicated inputs .
And Aaron B writes : Why do n’t any modern TV allow for two co-occurrent audio output ? Why is a TV not available with two eARC outturn or just an pick to start the ocular sound recording out with eARC active ? I have multiple devices with eARC useable , as well as a full studio apartment of speech sound in my amusement room , and I would love a way to use my S990c and still get a sign to my soundboard . Is there an external receiver that can control eARC equipment as well as oversee a second audio frequency out ? Even simple RCA with no volume dominance would work .
I pooled these questions together because I wanted to prove to explain why TVs do n’t have the inputs and outputs we wish they had . One : TV maker rarely make these particular parts of the TVs themselves . And two : They have to play to the most plebeian denominator and are not in the business of empale costs by catering to extra motivation .
MediaTek , which you may have heard of , attain many boards and chips that go into tv . This imply that the system on a fleck ( SsC ) , which manage a lot of processing and transcoding and is integrated with the HDMI outputs , is often not made by the TV steel in interrogation . There are some exceptions — TCL , which is a fully vertically incorporate company , makes all of its own stuff . This is why , on its telly , you ’ll see theeARCport is separate from one of the two 4 kB 120Hz or 8 K 60Hz port . But you ’ll observe that TCL still only has two high - bandwidth ports .
Samsung and LG could do it . But like all the TV mark , they are trying to serve the largest number of consumers possible . Many people still demand optic , and many folks are fine with three or four HDMI port , one of them being an ARC or eARC port wine . The folks that demand more are in the nonage and they are in all likelihood spending enough on their elaborated apparatus that spending a little more to make it all work is going to be OK with them .
Now to Aaron ’s point specifically : Just about anyAV receiverwith preamp outputs will do what you want . Or , you could get an HDMI - to - Toslink or HDMI - to - analog converter box seat and skip having the expensive receiving system in play for a relatively simple task . There are some receivers , though , that will do HDMI sound recording only out to a 2d geographical zone . Some receivers will transcode HDMI audio , downmix it , and put it out via Toslink . I retrieve you have a few options at your disposal .
Anyway , I get it . We look at the back of our idiot box and reckon : “ If only it hadthisthingthisway , then I could do what I need . Why do n’t they just do that ? ” And then you call up , “ Surely I ’m not the only one who wants it this way . ” And while it is unfeigned that you are not the only one , you are part of a small mathematical group of folks , and liberal businesses just do n’t have your specific interests in mind — as frustrative as that can often be .
