In this special trip down memory lane from Digit Zero1 Awards archives, we turn the spotlight on the televisions that have captured our imaginations from 2013 to 2022. These aren’t just screens; they are windows to unparalleled visual experiences, blending cutting-edge technology with stunning design.
Also read: Zero1 Awards Special: Best smartphones of the past decade
As we inch closer to the 2023 edition of Zero1 Awards, revisit the TVs that didn’t just win awards but also won a special place in the living rooms of millions around India and the world. Here are the Zero1 Award winning TVs of the past decade…
Take heed videophiles, for plasma had finally been outdone back in 2015. Why? Because the OLED technology that LG employed in its UHD televisions back then was definitely better than plasma televisions of lore. That’s why the LG TV was the winner of best performing TV in Zero1 Awards 2015. It achieved a contrast ratio of 81330:1 at 50% brightness, which beat the next best out by a pretty mile. Its white levels were pegged at 6900K, as close as it gets to the desired 6500K level. In addition, OLED tech allowed LG to eliminate motion blurs, which was really good news for gamers.
Turning off a pixel achieved true black for LG, so in movies like Gravity, outer space looked like nothing like you had ever seen on televisions before. What’s more? We even went out on a limb by saying that the Zero1 Award winning LG TV may breathe life into LG’s once defunct WebOS again. Fast forward to circa 2023, looks like we were right, weren’t we?
LCDs have traditionally been behind OLEDs. And despite LG’s OLEDs having steered past its competitors quite easily all through 2016, we did notice burn in issues on the OLED E6 which wasn’t ideal in terms of uncompromising performance. Sony, on the other hand, had silently worked towards achieving better colours using a technology it called Backlight Master Drive.
Also known as Focused Lightbeam technology, this allowed Sony to control individual lights in the backlight array. Thus, the TV had over 500 dimmable zones. As a result, the Sony Z9D achieved a contrast ratio of 1110:1 at 50 percent brightness, and in a reasonably lit room. It also had a white point reading of 6300K, which is as close to the ideal 6500K as it gets.
Also read: 5 retro-tech gadgets that won Digit Zero1 Award over 20 years ago
Another observation we made was that Android TV was actually a tad faster on this TV than on other Sony TVs that we reviewed in 2016. The interface seemed faster, and Sony had added a new Discover feature that did what the name suggested. A thoroughly deserving Zero1 Award winner of 2016!
Sony’s entry into the OLED market was good news for everyone – it meant we could expect more companies to jump onto the OLED bandwagon in future. And so it came to pass that the Zero1 Award for best television in India went to Sony’s A1 65-inch in 2017. It was the perfect mix of style and performance that anyone spending big bucks on a television would want to expect.
In our tests, the Bravia A1 returned contrast ratio ratings of over 180,000:1 at 50% brightness and with no direct light falling on the screen. That’s more than any television had achieved on our tests circa 2017. Also the Sony Bravia A1 was one of the few televisions in India that offered both Dolby Vision and HDR10 support.
The A9F, Sony’s OLED offering for 2018, retained the same look and design as 2017’s A1 with improvements under the hood. The TV sported the picture frame table top design, powered by Sony’s X1 Ultimate processor which was capable of some impressive object-based rendering. Additionally, the TV also boasted a Netflix Mode to ensure you watch content in the brightness, contrast and colour temperature that the content creators actually intended.
Also read: Zero1 Awards Special: Best gaming laptops of the past decade
Another feature was that the TV could be used as a centre channel speaker in your home theatre. Running on Android TV 8 out of the box, the new UI was smoother and simpler to navigate with the ability to control your smart home appliances just like you would with a Google Home speaker. With picture perfect display performance and good sound from the TV mixed with a new UI, smooth functionality and a host of features to exploit, the Sony A9F was the Zero1 winner for best performing TV of 2018.
The C9 was LG’s top OLED offering for 2019. It ran on LG’s Alpha 9 gen 2 processor, had an OLED panel with support for Dolby Vision and a resolution of 4K. The OLED panel was well-calibrated out of the box and had fantastic picture quality, noted Digit’s Test Centre back then. All the 4 HDMI ports on the TV were HDMI 2.1 full bandwidth enabled which meant you got features like variable refresh rate, 4K at 120hz and eARC support. With a new update, the TVs worked with NVIDIA’s 16 series and 20 series GPUs as well to give PC gamers VRR. With fantastic picture quality, a host of connectivity options, future proof via HDMI 2.1 and a slim design, the LG C9 was the winner for the Digit 2019 Zero1 Award in this category.
Who will win the Zero1 Award 2023 for best television of the year? Stay tuned and keep checking www.digit.in/zero1-awards for all the updates regarding Digit’s annual best products of the year awards.
