3G, 4G, H, H, E: what these icons mean on the smartphone screen?

Why are the icons changing next to the signal level icon every now and then? What do they mean. all these 4G, 3G, H and so on? We explain quickly and clearly.

In the “shutter” of your smartphone, the uppermost line displays different icons: signal strength, battery charge, and so on. Different letters may appear next to the “bars” indicating the signal strength: G, E, 3G, H, 3G, H, 4G, and sometimes LTE. What do they mean and why do they change all the time??

Deciphering the icons

It’s very simple: the letter designation shows which mobile data transmission technology is currently being used. That is, by what technology are you currently connected to the Internet.

Why are they different all the time? Depending on how well the phone “catches” in a particular place, different data transmission technologies are used. The phone unnoticed for you switches to the one that will provide the best Internet in the given conditions.

Now let’s explain in detail what is behind each letter.

• G. from the English. GPRS. General Packet Radio Service, general packet radio communication. This means that you are connected to a 2G or 2.5G mobile network. The maximum connection speed via GPRS is 171.2 Kbps, but in practice it is usually much lower.
• E. from the English. EDGE. This is an add-on over GPRS technology, which amplifies the signal in 2G and 2.5G networks. The maximum speed on EDGE already reaches 474 Kbps, but still in practice it is very slow.
• 3G. from the English. third generation. the third generation of GPRS technology, which provides high-speed Internet access. The maximum speed of 3G networks reaches 3.6 Mbps.
• H, 3G, H. If you see this icon, you are using HSPA (High Speed ​​Packet Access) technology. It allows you to transfer data over a 3G network at speeds up to several tens of Mbps.
• 4G (LTE, LTE-A). As can be understood by analogy, this technology got its name from the phrase fourth generation. the fourth generation. At the moment, it is the most common mobile Internet technology, the speed of which exceeds 100 Mbps when moving and 1 Gbps when the smartphone is stationary.

These speeds are pretty arbitrary: this is what technology standards promise. In reality, the speed of the Internet on a smartphone may be lower or higher than stated. You can navigate as follows:

• If you have a G or E icon in the curtain, it means that the Internet speed has dropped to a minimum. Move to a different location for the icon to change.
• If the 3G, 3G, H or H icon is displayed, the connection speed is normal. It is enough for surfing social networks, using instant messengers, sending mail.
• The 4G (LTE, LTE-A) icon indicates that the internet speed is maximum at the moment. You can listen to audio, watch HD video directly from your smartphone, use your phone as an access point.

It’s simple. And so that the mobile Internet on your smartphone is stable, and does not change every now and then, you can use a 4G router. read our selection!

And here is more about each of the technologies. and not only:

Buyer’s guide. How to choose the right amount of memory in your smartphone

Another conversation was with a friend, she bought my mother a phone as a gift, asked for advice. She recommended the basic version of the Galaxy A51, but she decided to purchase the 128GB model to “have enough storage for years to come.” Finally, a conversation with a friend who was choosing between the 128GB or 256GB iPhone 12 Pro Max. The topic comes up periodically, and, therefore, it’s time to share some thoughts about this.

How much memory is in your smartphone, memory card

The cost of a mistake when choosing a particular version of an Android smartphone is not so great, since you can always use memory cards, most devices support them. Even if you miss initially, you can partially correct your mistake. But here you need to understand that not all applications allow you to save all files to a memory card, this does not always have a positive effect on the speed of work, so it is worth paying attention here. Some flagships on Android do not support memory cards, as well as in the iPhone, so the right choice here becomes even more important. True, for Android smartphones, as a rule, there is so much memory installed that there is enough for your eyes, and you will not notice any flaws.

The memory in a smartphone is needed not only so that you can store applications, photos, music and other content in it, but also for the operation of the system itself. Initially, the operating system takes up some amount of memory on your device, therefore, when buying a smartphone with 128 GB of memory, you cannot count on the fact that all of it will be free.

Neither Android nor iOS can take up the entire memory of the phone, as this will slow down the work, some functions will not work at all. The general rule of thumb is that 6-8 GB of free memory is ideal, this will avoid any problems. To clog the memory to the eyeballs is harmful, since you will get a lot of problems and you will definitely not be happy with your device. Most of those who complain about slow Android, as a rule, do just that. they empty out all the memory without a trace and do not understand what they are doing wrong.

In my opinion, in order to understand how much memory you need, you must first assess what you are doing on your smartphone, how much memory you have today. Go to the appropriate section and see how much you have occupied. If your device is 1-3 years old, and the amount of free memory is about half, then you are most likely a “light” user, mostly call, text in messengers, and occasionally take pictures. Using a smartphone as a phone and a means of communication, you do not load memory with applications, as a result, the choice is as simple as possible for you. the same amount of memory or more due to the fact that even in basic models the amount of built-in memory is constantly growing. A couple of years ago, the flagships had 64 GB of memory, today it is 128 GB (iPhone 12 is the only exception).

But let’s look at an ordinary person who does not differ in the craving for content consumption, watching movies on the phone, but occasionally takes pictures, records video. Oddly enough, my friend’s mom fits this description perfectly. She calls, communicates in instant messengers, watches something on the net or on YouTube. An aged woman, but with great pleasure, takes pictures of family holidays, walks and also shoots videos of significant events. Its memory consumption does not look linear, it does not fill up with something every day. It was a birthday, and part of my memory was taken away by photographs and videos. The process is gradual, not very fast. But here it is important to understand that she is not ready to delete photos and videos of the family, for her this is a value. And there is no other content. Alternatively, children can help upload all photos and videos to the cloud, but in the future it will not be free (the same Google Photo from June 2021 will take money for this, and this is the first swallow).

It’s good if you are there when the phone memory is full, but what if not? Remotely explaining how to clear memory and what can be deleted is always problematic. Therefore, it is worth making it a rule to watch what is happening on such a device, and take care that the memory does not run out (including, perhaps, transferring files to a memory card or adding it).

In my opinion, in 2021 it is worth focusing on 64 GB of memory and keeping in mind the use of a memory card in the future for such users, it looks like a rational approach. At the same time, you can install a memory card of virtually any size (it costs 128 GB or more, here the choice is yours, but for older people, focus on the manufacturer and its quality, the speed of the card does not matter). Let’s conventionally call these users our grandmothers, they are people from 60 and older. For them, this amount of memory in most cases will be sufficient.

The average smartphone user in 2021

We are all unique, and the word “ordinary” cannot describe a person, but a smartphone is a universal subject. Most smartphone users use their capabilities by a third, or even less. Although in words it turns out that everyone squeezes the maximum possible out of their device, requires maximum productivity, working time. after all, money has been paid for this. But if you discard your own often erroneous ideas about yourself, then the picture will turn out to be quite simple. Most people constantly use a little more than a dozen applications, store their files on the phone (photos, videos, sometimes movies and TV shows).

Let’s try to imagine that you record a video occasionally. And here it all comes down to what quality you choose for this. For example, one minute of video in 4K resolution takes about 350-400 MB (H.264 codec, when using HEVC, almost half the size). For the same iPhone, this is the maximum resolution, which means that three minutes of recording will give you 1 GB of memory space. With this resolution, the maximum video recording time will be about three hours for the 64 GB model. Not very much, right? Therefore, any person who records video at least several times a year or suspects that he can do it should think about models with a memory capacity of 128 GB and higher (as an option, with support for memory cards).

Photos do not take up much memory, for example, I have about 4000 shots on my Z Fold2 in a few months, they took up almost 18 GB of space.

I am sure that most of the people do not photograph as much as it happens in my case. See how many photos you have in your gallery, how much space they take, how long it took you to take them. And conclusions can be drawn independently.

Having dealt with photos and videos, you need to focus on music and films, podcasts will also be attributed to music. Everything is quite simple here, if you watch movies and TV series on your phone, then expect that one season, consisting of 8-10 episodes, will take 5-8 GB of space in good quality. It is also worth keeping in mind such a rarity these days as a vacation trip, usually people download series for several weeks in advance (15-20 GB for this fly away with a bang). Music in normal quality (I’m not saying anything about uncompressed formats, that’s another story) will take you a couple of gigabytes, and if you want to keep your entire collection, then put 5-6 GB of space. But why do that if you have streaming? It is worth keeping only what you listen to more or less constantly.

My experience is that in 2021-2022, 128 GB of internal memory in a smartphone will be enough for most people, this is a sufficient amount. Most flagships have exactly this amount of memory. Interestingly, in 2020, sales of the iPhone 11 were indicative of the amount of memory buyers chose, let me remind you that for this model it is 64, 128 and 256 GB. The iPhone 11 128 GB was sold with a margin of 3 to 1, that is, people deliberately chose more memory and paid for it. Something similar happens in the market for Android smartphones and above, people choose 128 GB of storage.

Those who like to play heavy games should look at 128 GB and above, but with one caveat. if there are a lot of such games. Gradually, the memory requirements are growing, and after a couple of years the distribution of the game can weigh 20-30 GB, buying a device for growth, you need to remember this. On the other hand, usually those who play buy flagships, where the memory issue has already been resolved in favor of the maximum volume.

For the market in 2021, the golden mean is the volume of internal memory of 128 GB. Those who know that they record a lot of video, install applications with a large amount of data (cartography no longer applies to them) should look at devices with a large memory size. There were already 1 TB devices on the market, but they were not in great demand. over, studies have shown that such a volume is excessive, only a third of this volume remains occupied, and only a few manage to fill the memory to the eyeballs with their photos and videos (nothing else).

The fact that you can install memory cards on Android, including fast and large ones, gives you the freedom to choose. But for those who are looking for really large amounts of memory, and are an advanced user, SSD drives that can be directly connected to a smartphone can be advised. I have such 2 TB SSDs, I store archives from phones on them. At the same time, I do not feel a lack of memory in the smartphones themselves, I always have enough space.

What conclusions can be drawn from this material? First and foremost: the choice of the amount of memory is always yours, you need to evaluate how you use your smartphone, how much memory is occupied today. And do not forget that all new features, such as 4K / 8K video, require a different amount of memory. The same about new applications, their size is gradually growing, given the growth of memory in mobile devices.

I don’t think it’s worth saving on memory. If possible, then buy today a volume of 128 GB, it is available for most modern models. But if you don’t want to save at all, then take 256 GB (as an option, 512 GB, but this volume is redundant for almost everyone).

Tell us in the comments how much memory is in your device (main and memory card), how old it is and how much is occupied. Most importantly, how much storage space you need in your next device. thank.

Why does a smartphone have multiple cameras? Why do you need two, three or four camera modules?

The modern telephone has ceased to be just a telephone, it has acquired a lot of useful functions and qualities, including the ability to work on the Internet, which is why it was proudly called a smartphone. We are all accustomed to such a concept as a smartphone, but we very rarely think about what it means. Literally speaking, a smartphone is a real smart phone. As we have already said, it is considered smart due to its ability to work on the Internet via Wi-Fi or mobile LTE network. But if you delve a little into all the available capabilities of smartphones, you can understand more clearly and reasonably why it is exactly a smart phone, and not something else. The thing is that it can be complex computing equipment, a toy, or even a camera.

It is the smartphone camera that has received perhaps the greatest development impetus in the past few years. Developers of the most technologically advanced and popular devices, such as Samsung Galaxy S9, Huawei P20 Pro or iPhone XS Max, pay great attention to the cameras of their devices. The result of this is that few of us now can think about buying a separate camera if we have one of these smartphones in our. The most interesting thing is that the cameras in the smartphone are not only getting better and better quality, but also their number is growing. If quite recently we could use only two cameras. one for a selfie or a video call on the front, and the second for taking photos or videos on the back, now the number of cameras can reach three, four or even more modules.

Basic camera parameters

If we consider the most popular and functional smartphones, then we can be sure not only about the quality of the device itself, but also about the relatively high capabilities of its cameras. But what if we decided to purchase for ourselves a smartphone that does not belong to the category of flagships, and we do not know the capabilities of the cameras of the model we liked. Based on this, it is necessary to understand in detail the characteristics of the camera in advance. Here are the most basic parameters of a smartphone camera, which may indicate its quality and an outstanding result of the finished photo.

Resolution. When we try to find out how high-quality the camera in a smartphone is, the first thing we pay attention to is the resolution of the main and front cameras. This indicator manifests itself in megapixels, but despite the fact that we think this parameter is perhaps the most important, the high resolution of a smartphone camera does not always indicate the best quality of the finished photograph. At a higher resolution, we only get more dots (pixels) in the photo. But it is worth thinking about the need for cameras with a resolution of 20 megapixels or more, because the resolution of the TV screen in 4K has only 8.3 megapixels.

Aperture and aperture ratio. This indicator indicates how much light the camera lens can transmit. The better this indicator, the better our photos will be in a dimly lit room or in the evening without sunlight. In other words, in unfavorable conditions, the camera with the better aperture will show better results. This parameter is denoted by the symbol f, and then a numerical value is indicated. For example, f / 1.7. Interestingly, the lower the given number, the better it is. Some of the most modern smartphones have adaptive aperture, such as the Samsung Galaxy S9, whose camera can automatically adjust to the ambient light, whether it’s on a bright sunny day or late evening.

Pixel size. This is exactly the indicator that we not only very rarely pay attention to, but do not even take it into account when choosing a smartphone with a high-quality camera. It is measured in micrometers, for example 1.4 µm. The larger the pixel size, the better. Therefore, it should be understood that as the camera resolution increases, the pixel sizes may decrease, which does not lead to a favorable result.

Image stabilization. This indicator will be useful in the case of shooting videos using the camera of our smartphone. Thanks to stabilization, the camera compensates for natural hand shake, for example, when walking, and the captured video does not look “shaky”. Stabilization can be optical or electronic. The first more qualitatively relieves us of such “jitter”, the second is more of an auxiliary parameter. Therefore, it is highly desirable that the smartphone camera has at least some image stabilization capability.

Additional features. It will not be superfluous to also pay attention to the additional features that the camera of a new smartphone may have. For example, a camera can have an optical or digital zoom, which will allow it to more or less qualitatively bring objects far from us in the frame. The camera may have the ability to create a slow-motion video, so that we can see on the video the smallest details of what happened in the frame. And a smartphone can also have several camera modules (lenses), but not everyone knows why they are needed.

Why does a smartphone need two cameras?

recently, everything was extremely simple. Smartphones had a front camera for the so-called “selfies”, and a main camera for creating photos and videos. But, relatively recently, we may have noticed that the number of camera lenses on our smartphones is starting to increase quantitatively. Thus, we all could have a question as to why our smartphone needs two main cameras at once? Is one really better than the other? In fact, we, as before, have only one main camera, and the second module with an additional lens becomes an auxiliary one. In the early stages of the development of the dual main camera, the auxiliary module was simply monochrome, ostensibly for better perception of the transmitted light through the camera lens. This made it possible to create better quality and more detailed photographs. We can also take black and white photos without applying filters.

But today the second camera module helps us more to use the capabilities of the smartphone to create the so-called Bokeh effect. The essence of this effect lies in the fact that the second auxiliary camera was able to determine the background and qualitatively “blur” it, while leaving the focusing object itself clear. The main camera usually has a high resolution so that the smartphone creates good quality pictures. But here the auxiliary second lens can have a resolution of 2 megapixels or slightly higher, which does not at all call into question the final quality of the photo. Some developers are trying to equip front cameras with a double lens, because in this way we can take not only photos with the bokeh effect, but also selfies!

Why does a smartphone need three cameras?

As soon as we got used to the fact that the main (or even front) camera of a smartphone can consist of two lenses at once, smartphones with three lenses immediately received. We have already disassembled why two camera lenses are needed, so the interest regarding a triple camera may not be satisfied. The most striking examples of the use of three main cameras in their smartphones are Huawei P20 Pro and Samsung Galaxy A7 2018. If we consider Huawei P20 Pro, then this model uses not only a camera that can detect the background, but also a monochrome one, which allows you to skip more light to create the best possible photo.

In the case of a Samsung smartphone, we can understand that the main camera is the main one, the additional one determines the background, and the third camera is needed to create a wide-angle photo. Remember how not so long ago we created a panoramic photo, taking several photographs at once one by one? Thanks to the third camera in the Samsung Galaxy A7 2018, this is not necessary, because this smartphone has a lens with the ability to create a picture with an angle of 120 degrees. This way we can take a snapshot with just one click with a very large coverage. But it should be understood that each of the three modules of the main camera has its own aperture, so the final result of the photo will not be improved by additional camera modules, but will only supplement it with new capabilities.

Why does a smartphone need four cameras?

The most modern trend in the development of a camera in a smartphone is the presence of four camera modules at once. It seems that the entire rear part of the body of our gadget will soon be covered around the entire perimeter with many cameras that will be responsible for some of their functions. Seriously speaking, the largest number of lenses is observed in the Samsung Galaxy A9, which has four lenses of the main camera at once. But why are there really so many of them? Why four at once? We have already touched on the question of the fact that a smartphone camera can have the ability to qualitatively approach distant objects. In modern conditions, professional cameras have similar properties, and the cameras that are built into our smartphones can only produce a similar effect.

The situation may change dramatically with the appearance of the fourth module in our camera, which, by analogy with the Samsung Galaxy A9, can be responsible for the optical zoom. 2x or 3x. Thanks to this, we will be able to bring distant objects closer in the frame without losing quality, as is the case in SLR cameras. Thus, we can understand that by adding additional camera modules to their devices, many developers are only trying to endow them with some new capabilities, because if you create one lens with all four parameters, then we will again get a huge SLR camera lens, instead of the compact parameters of a modern smartphone.

Why does a smartphone need a camera?

At the dawn of the development of smartphones, we could be sincerely surprised that our mobile phone was able to create photos and videos. Sometimes the question even arose about the practical use of the built-in camera in our smartphone. But, as time has shown, the camera in a smartphone is one of the main elements and it is on it that we pay our primary attention when buying a new device. Let’s take a closer look at why a camera is needed in our smartphone.

Selfie. The fashion for selfies, or, as this type of photography is also called. “selfies”, has received a very rapid development, and this development was followed by the rapid improvement of the front cameras of our devices. They began to “grow” with megapixels, and their aperture ratio became much better than before. In some models, the quality and resolution of the front camera began to surpass the main one.

Video communication. Sometimes it happens that our close friends or relatives are very far from us, and we cannot visit or just see them. Our smart phone with its built-in camera helps us in this. Most often, a front camera and a special messenger program are used for video communication. Taking the smartphone in hand, we will see our interlocutor on the screen, and thanks to the camera, our interlocutor will see us, and we will be able to feel with loved ones in a similar way.

Photos. Pleasant moments often occur in our life that we want to capture in the form of a photograph. It can be just a pleasant event or a holiday, or it can be a trip to an unfamiliar country with many attractions and beauties. Having a modern smartphone at hand, we can easily take a high-quality photo, which we can later review and remember about pleasant moments and emotions.

Videos. The main camera of our smartphone is capable of creating not only photos, but also high-quality videos. Thus, reviewing a video filmed a long time ago, we can easily remember the good mood with which it was created. Agree, sometimes it is very interesting to watch half-forgotten videos and remember great times in order to recharge with positive emotions and impressions for the future.

Summarize

often than not, we just take photos with our smartphone. The presence of additional camera modules very rarely affects the final result of photography. But, additional cameras and lenses very often provide us with additional capabilities that allow us to use the Bokeh effect with blurring the background, we get the possibility of optical zoom with a high-quality approximation of distant objects. We also get additional opportunities at the time of editing a photo, because an additional camera module recognizes the background, and thanks to this we can change the focus in an already finished photo.

The number of cameras in our smartphones will increase indefinitely, and jokes about the location of cameras around the entire perimeter of the back of the smartphone should remain just jokes. Most likely, there will be no more than four or maybe five of them, because the most active developers and manufacturers are probably working on one compact lens that can combine the capabilities of all two, three or four camera modules of our smartphones.

How to watch 4K YouTube videos on a non-4K smartphone

For many people, mobile devices have replaced desktop and laptop computers as their primary means of consuming content. The official YouTube app for Android is used by hundreds of millions of people around the world. YouTube video quality has skyrocketed in recent years with the introduction of 60fps and 4K resolution, although for the vast majority of people without a 4K monitor, YouTube 4K videos are simply not available.

Some smartphones, such as the Sony Xperia XZ Premium, offer 4K displays, although this is the exception, not the rule. Sony Xperia XZ Premium users can watch YouTube videos in full 4K resolution, but this is not available on most other devices. If you have a 4K streaming connection, why can’t you watch it? Fortunately, with a simple change to build.prop, you can also watch 4K YouTube videos on any smartphone.

The Google Pixel has a 1080p screen, so the default maximum video quality available on YouTube is 1080p. The video we tested this modification with is an MKV HD video.

We confirmed that a better quality video stream was served by comparing network traffic at 1080p versus 2160p. The 1080p stream resulted in 1.5 Mbps versus 4.5 Mbps for the RUR 2160 stream. Although the sharpness has not changed, the color quality has improved significantly and there are fewer artifacts.

There is a lot of conflicting information about the resulting 4K video quality on a lower resolution screen. Some sources claim it’s better than watching native 1080p content, while other sources claim that downsampling won’t change the quality. Try the modification and see for yourself.

The path to the build.prop file

By and large, some other settings of your smartphone (tablet) can be changed in the build.prop file. But we will analyze how you can add 4K resolution to a smartphone (tablet). The path to the build.prop file is as follows. We find the folder with the root files (in any case, I have it so called). In this folder we find the System folder.

This folder contains (separately) the build.prop file. Click on it and hold it. Select Edit from the drop-down list. There is an option to send it to your mail, and then open it with notepad to study the rest of the settings in more detail.

Editing build.prop with 4K added

The following requirements must be met in order for the YouTube app to display 4K content:

Root edit build.prop.
2. Hardware support for VP9 decoder as YouTube 4K videos are encoded in VP9.

All you have to do is modify the build.prop file in / system using your root file browser (or using an application like BuildProp Editor) and add the following line:

Close the YouTube app and clear its data, then restart your phone. When you open YouTube again, the app will “see” your phone as 4K. Hence, it will offer you higher quality videos. If your phone doesn’t have hardware VP9 decoder support, then you won’t see the 4K video option, but at least you will see the 2K resolution option if you don’t already see that option.

https://01010101.ru/HD-blu-ray/smotret-video-4k-youtube-smartfone-ne-4k.html How to watch 4K video from YouTube on a smartphone not 4K 2017-06-11T16: 02: 0400: 00 admin HD Blu-ray HD Blu-ray For many people, mobile devices have replaced desktop and laptop computers as their primary means of consuming content. The official YouTube app for Android is used by hundreds of millions of people around the world. YouTube video quality has skyrocketed in recent years with the introduction of 60fps and 4K resolution, although for the vast majority of people without. admin Administrator

4K TV. great features and high price

Although the television standard UHD TV was adopted only in 2012, the first development of an ultra-clear digital picture TV began in 2004 through the efforts of NHK. Since then, dozens of different models have seen the light, from simple budget versions to ultra-modern flagships with a whole arsenal of additional functions.

If you decide to purchase an economical but productive device in 2019, you should look at LG brand products (for example, model 43UK6390 or 49UH619V) and 4K TVs from Samsung (UE43NU7100U or UE46MU6100U will bring a lot of pleasant impressions). Please note that such equipment will require a lot of free space in the room. Well, if you want to become the owner of the newest and most perfect product (while having enough money), then the Sony RD-75XF8596 or Samsung QE75Q8CAM will be what the doctor ordered. Note! Unfortunately, at the moment in Russia, not so much content is supported, made with the use of Ultra HD technology.

And if, when searching for a movie or series, you have the opportunity to receive data for free, then the TV channels will be exclusively commercial in nature, requiring a monthly payment for viewing.

4K resolution standards for TV screens and monitors

Yes, the technology we are considering also has several subspecies, called standards. The most common today are:

• Ultra HD is the smallest available option. Has a resolution equal to 3840 × 2160. It is with this variation that we most often deal when purchasing 4K gaming monitors and other equipment of a similar kind;
• Widescreen. has a more familiar length of 4096 pixels, but is inferior in height to the previous version. only 1600 pixels. Used when creating movies;

Despite the low performance, widescreen mode allows you to see the maximum of detail on the screen

• WQXGA (DCI) is a format used for photo and video shooting. Has an average resolution of 4096 × 2160;
• Full-frame. if a real expert were asked, “What resolution is this 4K?”, Then with the greatest probability he would have chosen this option. Think for yourself, 3072 points in height and 4096 in length, what else is needed for happiness?

This solution is the quintessence of all stages of development and implementation of the digital format

NOTE! In addition to the widescreen standard, among moviegoers there are academic and casheted formats created specifically for 35 mm film. In everyday life, you hardly use them, but if you feel the talent of an operator, you can try experimenting.

Other UHD-Enabled Devices. When One Screen Is Not Enough

Do you think that by buying yourself a new TV and 4K monitor from LG or Samsung, you will unleash the full potential of modern development? But no! Not only large-sized products have acquired support for Ultra HD format, it is also subject to mobile devices and camcorders.

A good example is the flagship smartphones from the Japanese company Sony. Xperia XZ Premium and XZ2 Premium, which combine phenomenal performance with the display resolution of interest to us. Also, amateur shooting in UHD is becoming more and more popular (although for cameras with the corresponding functionality are still noticeably “biting”). When buying such powerful equipment, beware: in addition to the advantages, it will also reveal the shortcomings of the interior and appearance.

Devices that work with images in 4K

The world market learned what it was. 4K image quality. 13 years ago, but not all electronics were ready for such large-scale changes. Gradually, UHD technology has been able to penetrate almost all electronic devices related to the image. 4K monitors from Dell, BENQ, LG or widescreen TVs from Samsung or Philips are now no longer surprising. We offer to consider the most common devices with support for a resolution of 4000 pixels. From huge screens to compact smartphones. wherever you can find this format!

Requirements for devices supporting 4K resolution

Since the subject of our review has rather impressive “dimensions”, for its correct operation powerful parameters are needed, because only the best monitors and TVs support 4K. So what to look for when choosing in the first place?

• The aspect ratio should be 16: 9, if you see other values, then you have a product of a different category in front of you.
• The specification should indicate the upconverter required to upscale the image when using simple Full HD on a 4K monitor or TV.
• Presence of at least one HDMI-input with corresponding support for playback modes.
• And, finally, 3840 × 2160 is recognized as the minimum acceptable resolution.

The hardware must also be capable of processing the ITU-R BT.709 and higher color space, otherwise the picture will be faded Finally, let’s look at the main advantages and disadvantages of 4K resolution:

Shooting 4k or HD. Pros and Cons

Strengths	Weak sides
The most detailed and contrasting image	High cost of devices
Correct display of all Spectra colors	Limited amount of content on the territory of Russia
Reduces eye fatigue when viewing with high frame rates	Not every user will be able to fully notice the difference between Full HD and Ultra HD.

4K monitor for computer is a technological dream of true gamers and designers

Any connoisseur of computer games or IT-specialist will confirm that the quality of the picture affects the work and entertainment processes in no way less than the performance of the PC. And if your monitor with a diagonal of 27 inches or more does not support 4K, then you are unlikely to get due pleasure when trying out another shooter or watching a new video on Blu-ray media.

Due to the widespread development, in 2019 almost any user can afford such a device. Having carefully studied the budget segment, one can single out such samples of technology as the ultra-economical masterpiece from Samsung. 4K monitor U28E590D or less popular, but more productive and “fancy” product from AOS. U2879VF. The U28E590D is ideal for first acquaintance with the digital standard. cheap and stylish! For more affluent and demanding readers, we recommend not passing by such items as the 4K monitor from ASUS codenamed MX27UC or the uncompromising gaming solution presented by Acer. Predator XB321HKbmiphz. Just one glance at such a miracle of technology is enough to understand that it was created for hours of battles over a keyboard or gamepad.

What is “4K resolution” and how much is it in pixels

Before deciding what 4K resolution means in the world of electronics, let’s remember that all modern digital screens are made up of tiny particles, “atoms” of the image, called pixels. The number of these particles in length and width is called the maximum display resolution. Alas, the early models of the 90s of the XX century, due to the low value of this indicator, could not produce a contrast and rich image.

But by the early 2000s, the first generation of monitors appeared to support Full HD resolution (1920 pixels in length and 1080 in width). This was followed by a whole wave of inventions, until the 4K format was presented in 2005. So what is it? Imagine a screen with 4000 dots in length. This will be the distinguishing feature of the characteristic we are interested in. But not everything is as simple as it might seem at first glance. The difference between 2K and 4K seems not so significant, but not for experienced moviegoers!

4K resolution is how many pixels fit on one screen?

Not every display is capable of displaying such a variety of colors and shades.

What 4K resolution means for a smartphone now and in the future?

LG G4. the smartphone with the highest pixel density of the screen

Some 4K support has begun to appear on smartphones. will likely be added to them in the near future. It should be noted right away that we are not yet talking about such a resolution of phone screens. First of all, you need to decide what 4K is. This is the resolution at which 4 thousand pixels are placed horizontally in a line of the screen. The 4K standard adopted by Digital Cinema Initiatives is 4096 x 2160 pixels. In practice, 4K is sometimes called devices and content, the number of pixels in a line of which does not reach 4000. For smartphones and other consumer devices, the standard 4K resolution is 3840 x 2160 pixels. 4K phone screens are sometimes considered a worthless innovation, because such a high resolution is redundant for miniature smartphone displays.

Users may not notice if phone screen resolution goes to 4K.

Posted by Kevin Thomas on 3g.co.uk, “4K phones: Everything you need to know,” addresses 4K issues that are relevant to smartphones or are expected to be in the future.

At the moment, a smartphone with a 4K screen does not exist. Modern smartphones feature 720p, 1080p or QHD (1440 x 2560) resolutions.

Recently, rumors have surfaced that the first commercially available smartphone with a 4K resolution (3840 x 2560) display will be the ZTE Star 3. The phone is said to have a 5.5-inch screen with a pixel density of 808ppi, which is serious a step up from the LG G4 (538ppi), which has the highest pixel density today. This phone has been compared to the best devices of 2015.

Presumably, both Samsung and LG will bring similar devices to the market in the next couple of years. Sharp has already created a 4K screen for smartphones. It is expected to find its way into the phones of 2016.

Does the user need a 4K screen?

A 4K screen is beyond the threshold at which human eyes are able to discern the presence of pixels. Therefore, a person simply will not see the difference between such a display and a screen with a lower resolution.

Apple says this threshold is 326 ppi. For this reason, the company calls its screens Retina displays.

At the same time, many users note that the image on QHD screens is clearer. Most experts believe that a reasonable limit for phone screen pixel density is 600 pixels per inch, notes Kevin Thomas. The Samsung Galaxy S6 and LG G4 come close to this. However, users sometimes do not notice the difference even between HD and FullHD.

Higher resolution means more computing power and battery requirements.

But all these are questions of the future. Even if 4K screens are not visually different from a QHD display, they could be the new hallmark of flagship devices. Users sometimes even have a question about how QHD differs from 4K.

Some phones already allow 4K video recording. We are talking about Samsung Galaxy S6, Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge, Samsung Galaxy Note 4, Samsung Galaxy Note Edge, LG G4, LG G3, Sony Xperia Z3, Sony Xperia Z3, Sony Xperia Z2, Sony Xperia Z3 Compact and Google Nexus 6.

A number of other phones don’t ship with 4K cameras, but do support 4K video apps. For example, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus can do this using a third-party app. Of course, none of these phones have a 4K screen, and the user will not be able to watch the captured video on the device’s screen with such high quality. To see all the benefits of such shooting, he will need to display the video on a 4K screen.

It should be noted that the technical performance of modern telephone cameras is also higher than most users require. After all, for example, for high-quality printing of an A4 photo, only an 8-megapixel camera is enough.

Output 4K video to external display

Viewing phone content on the external display is easy enough. Of course, 4K TVs and monitors are expensive, but there is such an opportunity.

The next obstacle to watching video in such high quality is that many methods for outputting video to an external screen do not support 4K. For example, Google’s popular Chromecast doesn’t support it. However, a 4K version is expected to arrive soon.

The easiest way to output 4K video to an external display is to use an MHL 3.0 adapter. This is a common way to display video content from your phone on large screens. Version 3.0 of this adapter supports 4K quality. This method is not wireless.

4K is more relevant to TVs than smartphones

4K screens are good, but as time passes, they become commonplace, and it’s time to talk about 8K. This quality assumes a resolution of 7680 x 4320 pixels. At this resolution, the number of pixels on the screen is 33 million. By comparison, 4K resolution assumes 8 million pixels, but 1080p only 2 million.

Don’t expect 8K screens to hit smartphones anytime soon. Indeed, on 5-6-inch screens, it will not give any advantages.

4K Video: Explained!

That being said, 8K TVs are likely to appear in the future. YouTube already has 8K videos, notes Kevin Thomas. However, so far there is simply nothing to reproduce it in full quality.

As for smartphones, according to Kevin Thomas, 4K will be the highest resolution that will be supported by their screens. But this does not mean that the improvement of phone screens will stop there. Indeed, in addition to resolution, the screen has many other characteristics that can be improved, including color accuracy, saturation and viewing angles. In addition, new technologies, such as 3D or even holograms, can be used in device displays.

Will 4K smartphones go mainstream in the coming years??

Working with shades

What it is? If you look out the window now, you are more likely to see gray clouds and snow. Not the most saturated color range, but the human eye is able to distinguish many shades even in this monotonous landscape, which give the picture, transmitted to the brain, clarity and volume. A standard modern TV, even a “classic” 4K, does not reproduce color in such details, but 4K HDR will cope.

The main idea behind the HDR format is that it provides a higher level of contrast between light and dark areas of the screen. In words, it does not sound very impressive, but within the framework of technology, this is a rather serious step. Contrast, as the difference between the brightest whiteness and the darkest black, is measured in candelas per square meter (cd / m2), or nits. Spectra’s lowest brightness will be 0 nits (that is, complete darkness), which can now be achieved only on special displays with organic LEDs. But the highest score for 4K HDR models is an order of magnitude higher than that of their ordinary counterparts. True, there is still a long way to go before delivering real lighting to TVs. Take a look at the following illustration. As we can see, HDR technology has reached the brightness of an ordinary fire, and television technology is still far from the brightness of indirect sunlight, as it is to Mars. It’s embarrassing to talk about ordinary TVs in this context. The essence of shooting in HDR is that the camera shoots at once in several modes with different shutter speeds in order to completely “catch” both the light and shadows of the objects or scenes being shot. Then the information is processed in such a way as to bring it into a single balanced picture, as close as possible to how people perceive color and light. Like 4K, the HDR format is already actively used in modern cinema, so that an ordinary TV now “eats up” part of the color gamut of the film. HDR technology, according to NVIDIA, is able to double the color gamut, which covers 75% of the Spectra seen by humans.

The question arises, to what extent should all these indicators concern the viewer himself? In no small measure. The difference between 4K HDR and a regular HD TV is visible to almost anyone, as HDR greatly enhances the contrast between black and white, meaning white becomes very bright and blacks extremely dark. The colors look much richer and richer, the whole picture, in principle, seems to the eye more voluminous and lively. This effect is psychologically stronger than 3D, and without any glasses and visual fatigue. Since the technology in television is relatively new, not every TV, even with 4K resolution, has HDR, and not all devices where the effect is present HDR is implemented with maximum efficiency. In fact, the new technology is only fully revealed in the 2016 models, and we took Sony’s XD93 series as an example. Let’s try on a “live” sample to consider the future of television in the new format, as well as those technological developments, thanks to which it is provided.

Live example

They have a 4K X1 ™ processor. It is designed to process 4K HDR signals while enhancing the detail of any source, even those far from 4K quality: TV shows, DVDs and Blu-ray discs, video materials from the Internet and digital photos. Of course, the processor will not be able to make a full-fledged 4K from a standard image, but it can significantly improve it. The processor optimizes texture, sharpness and color while reducing noise: the system scales each pixel by analyzing the individual portions of each frame and matching them against a dedicated image database with tens of thousands of reference recordings collected by Sony over the years of film and TV production. Such processing allows you to correct and improve even a blurry picture. Last but not least, this effect is due to the fact that the Sony XD93 series uses 14-bit signal processing, which provides, accordingly, 14-bit color gradation, even if the input was the standard 8-bit signal today. As a result, the Sony XD93 series has 64 times more color levels than conventional TV displays, an impressive difference: a regular 8-bit signal provides 256 color levels, while a 14-bit signal provides 16383 levels. And as you can see in the table below, this bit depth gives more than 4 trillion color shades at the output.

It is clear why 14-bit gradation seems unnecessary, since the eye does not need so many shades of color in general, it simply does not see them. But for television, this is important. The fact is that color shades are unevenly distributed in a dynamic picture. Most of them go to brightly lit areas and much less to dark ones. The human eye, on the other hand, is evolutionarily more sensitive to shadows rather than bright areas. A contradiction arises. And here the greater bit depth has a numerical advantage: regardless of the uniformity of the distribution, there are actually 4 times more shades in the shadows, and they no longer seem flat to the human brain.

What is 4K HDR, why you need it and where you can see it?

When we say “4K”, we usually mean a panel with a resolution of 3840×2160. If we multiply these numbers, then we get a TV panel containing more than 8 million pixels. This figure is four times (!) Higher than the pixel density in standard HD-screens. The term 4K comes from the film industry, where resolution has now reached the standard of 4096×2160. Thus, now only 4K TVs are close to the original resolution of widescreen movies. Just imagine how much you don’t see when you watch a modern blockbuster (and in general most of the films released in 2016) on an ordinary HD screen. Recent studies show that by 2020 the 4K standard will become almost ubiquitous, especially in terms of the image, such a resolution allows you to achieve higher picture clarity and contrast. In addition, 4K images can be viewed at close range, even when dealing with large TV panels. For example, a 4K TV with a 65-inch screen can be watched from a distance of 2 meters. When the format became available to the general public a few years ago, it seemed like a real breakthrough. Now it has become a little familiar, has become familiar, although it still competes with more archaic formats due to its high cost. Meanwhile, the most modern 4K TVs offer the viewer a new 4K HDR (High Dynamic Range) format. high dynamic range.

Light and color

However, the point is not only in the method of signal processing, but also in the systems of its transmission, since even the most processed and corrected picture must still be displayed so that all efforts are not lost on the way. In this case, Triluminos ™ screen technology is activated. which works mainly with the vertices of the triangle that was in the picture above, that is, with the shades of blue, green and red, which usually cause the most problems when playing on a TV screen. According to Sony, this technology can expand the color gamut of a TV screen by 50%. This is achieved through the technology of quantum dots, which provide the presence of “pure” blue, red and green colors (for example, in conventional LCD displays, green as such is absent, it is achieved by mixing red and blue). Color rendering is one of the stumbling blocks for television technology. The problem is that color has no units. Each person’s perception of it is unique, depending on the processing of the image by the brain, individual characteristics of vision, and even culture. For example, if the ancient Greeks saw the color blue, they never called it, it is enough to recall Homer’s “wine-colored” sea and his “red” cornflowers. To the Romans, blue also seemed vulgar and dangerous. Also, studies show that men and women perceive color differently. Men, for example, have difficulty distinguishing between subtle shades of green, blue and red. That is why both HDR and the technologies surrounding it make Accent more on contrast and volume, which a person perceives more or less the same, than on the number of shades. You most likely saw the diagram below comparing the perception of color shades in men and women, but psychological studies, supported by neurophysiological data, suggest that this is so, which means that two people sitting in front of the same TV will evaluate the number of colors that see.

It should be noted that all these algorithms and technologies for the most effective implementation need a sufficiently bright screen, where one of the necessary conditions is a different backlight intensity, depending on the brightness and contrast of the image. This is achieved with Slim Backlight Drive technology.

4K is a designation for resolution in digital cinema and computer graphics, approximately corresponding to 4000 pixels horizontally. For cinematography and home 4K TVs, 4K resolution means different values: 4096 x 3072 for full-frame resolution in cinema and 3840 x 2160 for home TVs. HDR (High Dynamic Range) is a technology for working with images with a high dynamic range, that is, a range of brightness that exceeds the capabilities of most modern technologies. The technology allows you to work with the full brightness range of any scene, bringing the image closer to what the human eye sees. It is necessary to distinguish between HDR in photography and HDR in televisions. With the same task. to convey the colors of the surrounding world as faithfully as possible. in photography, HDR means receiving, processing and storing raster images. In television technology, HDR means increased brightness (at a peak of about 4000 cd / m2 2 ) and detail. Triluminos ™. Sony’s color rendering technology, whereby using quantum dots and blue LEDs instead of white, the image of blue, red and green colors is improved. Slim Backlight Drive (Slim Backlight Drive). Sony backlight system with two layers of light guide panels, which is installed in TVs of the XD93 series and analyzes the image, distributing the intensity of the backlight. Upscale. the process of increasing the resolution and quality of a digital image or video.