Why are the model names of TVs and other home tech so cryptic?
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It’s like the VIN on your car. To the people who need to understand it, it’s not cryptic at all. it tells those people all kinds of stuff about the car, and nobody else really needs to care.
Most people will buy a “2019 Ford F150” without caring what the VIN is, but when they take it in for service, the mechanic will look at the VIN and know the year it was made, the engine type, trim package, and all sorts of other stuff. Similarly, most people will buy a “65 inch Samsung TV” without knowing or caring that it’s a model UN65TU7000. If it needs service, the technician will see that number, and he’ll know exactly what screen to order to replace the one your kid hit with a spoon.
Like asking 1Why my car’s vin number gotta be so cryptic?
They’re indicative of the feature set. Size, series, technology, etc. You could call your new TV the Steven, but then nobody would know anything about Steven from it’s name.
Because there’s almost never a huge difference between models of home appliances like stoves and TVs. It’s very similar to the way computer models are named.
Someone in the organization is “let’s call this project Pink” but the people who are keeping track of 125 separate SKUs insist that it have a very obscure name that only they understand fully, so it has both names until it is released to customers.
The model names are abbreviations of a long description of the product.
‘50” 4K ultra high definition TV with built-in Roku with a black frame, built in 2022, model 43, revision A’ might be shortened to ‘504KROKBK2243/A’.
Every company does something like that and has their own way of describing their product and abbreviating the description. Once you become familiar with the formula they use, you can look at a model number and tell what the product is right away (helpful for people that sell and handle the things).
TVs can have a lot of different features that need to be somehow in the model name.
You need to have the size in inches in there, the technology like LCD, LED whatever, whether it is smart or dumb, the generation often in the form of the year.
Bigger companies have also more than one models that are higher end but otherwise use the same tech and are the same size.
You don’t want the model name to be too long so you have maybe one or two letters /digits for each thing you are describing.
This way you can reduce a paragraph of identifying description down to a single short string of letters and numbers that someone in the know understands and for everyone else at least means they can uniquely identified the exact model.
Say you make TVs. Well you need every TV you make to have a name so you can easily find parts or information ect on that TV, so you call your first TV “TV” or “TV1” and the next “TV2” and so on.
But hold on a sec, what if we make the same TV but with a larger screen? Okay “TV1 42” or “TV1 50″….
Great but say you ship these TVs internationally and some places have different rules for TV specifications? “TV1 42 EU” and “TV1 42 NA”?
Guess that works. Now next year we keep making those TVs but our suppliers change for cheaper parts or new technology, so last year’s TV isn’t exactly the same as this year’s. Better add that to “TV1 42 EU 22”
Already you can see the code building up and we haven’t even discussed extra features, like receiver type, smart TV operating system built in dvd players and such.
We could have something like “TV142EU22FSFiDVD”
Admittedly confusing to us but simple for a computer system to find exactly what you’re looking for.
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The model isn’t there to help you as a buyer, it’s there to help the seller. To the seller, the model name contains all sorts of useful information.
As a buyer, you’re going to buy a new TV every what, 5 years? maybe 8? You don’t need to know the complexities of the model name (which will all have different patterns based on who is manufacturing it). Product name, description and specifications are all there for you to understand what you’re buying, the model name/number is “not for you”.
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