Don't Buy That new 4k TV (1 Viewer)

Interesting article today from THE VERGE


I sort of agree it's still too soon to be considering one of these displays -- especially since we still don't have 4k broadcasts or even disc media yet.


What do you think? Do you agree? Disagree?

Same thing we've all been barking for 18 months now...

I am hoping my 67-inch Samsung LED DLP set lasts for several more years while all this new display technology shakes out. I am not planning on buying a new TV as long as this current one is functioning fine. I am perfectly happy with a non-3D 1080p TV and blu-ray player.

Don't buy one YET. Do buy one on Black Friday if you think it would be fun. It's not a necessity, it IS a fun way to be at the forefront of our hobby tho. Pioneers get the arrows in their backs (DIVX, HDDVD, Minidisc) but they get to be first, which can be great too =)

I can haz 4k pj?

My suggestion:


Do as I did. Bought a Samsung 4K set with an upgradable "One Connect" box, a way of future-proofing your purchase.


Bought my set last year (65") and with the purchase of the "One Connect" box a couple of weeks ago I now have HDR in my set.


I sit around 6' from the screen and I DO see a difference !


One purchase which although expensive I have yet to regret.

For now, I'm keeping my 60" Pioneer plasma (KRP-600M). I purchased this new in 2009 for $3299 and it still looks great (I have had it ISF calibrated twice). Some of the 4K displays in the stores look great, but it's hard to judge since they always pump up brightness and contrast so that the pic jumps out at you. "Pish, posh 4K!"

Summarizing: there's nothing to watch on these new TVs.

Based on how my 2009 Kuro looks watching Tivo and even Blu-Ray, I can't see any point in a 4k TV for living room use at the 50"-60" size. If I were buying a new TV, 4k has dropped in price that it's the new mid-range. I wouldn't avoid it. But there's nothing to it to see out as a replacement to a working HD set.


My personal, ever-repeated, always-future-purchase hope is for 4k projection. Even without 4k material, the screen can be large enough, the seating close enough, that 4k pixels would be invisible where HD would be apparent. Project 4k Blu-ray through even basic upscaling (from the projector) and -- at a guess -- it makes 4k worthwhile on a 100"+ screen.



But the hardware makers are shackled by media providers. There's little 4k material. There's no HDR material. 4k Blu-ray is announced, but we're years from those players being bought for living rooms. How long, if ever, that Redbox rents 4k HD discs?


I think all this would be turned on its head if the Xbox One or PS4 had launched supporting 4k games. They didn't. We're presumably five years from the next iteration. So it won't be gaming that does it. Unless AppleTV turns into a gaming beast, and they support "Retina" graphics output for 4k Angry Birds.

DaveF said:

Summarizing: there's nothing to watch on these new TVs.

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Every time there's an upgrade to picture quality, the first material released is always just two kinds:


1) Sports

2) Trashy Hollywood "action" films


I wouldn't watch either if you paid me.

Dennis Nicholls said:

Every time there's an upgrade to picture quality, the first material released is always just two kinds:

1) Sports
2) Trashy Hollywood "action" films

I wouldn't watch either if you paid me.

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For the record, you can pay me to watch trashy Hollywood action films for hire. Please contact me if interested. My hourly rate is reasonable. This is 100% domestic watching; I don't outsource to third-party watchers.

Doesn't Netflix and DTV offer 4K programming.

Ronald Epstein said:

Interesting article today from THE VERGE


I sort of agree it's still too soon to be considering one of these displays -- especially since we still don't have 4k broadcasts or even disc media yet.


What do you think? Do you agree? Disagree?

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Finally someone who has the common agreeably sense of negative, positive as yes its really all way too early to shell out thousands for a tv that can do laserdisc DVD HD-DVD bluray and 4k limited discs never mind about broadcasts, broadcasts you get interruptions of voice overs on the end credits of film that I find annoying. Cropped scope films I seen it all and frankly speaking. The more things change. The more they stay the same.


I won't touch 4k tv or projector for at least many years. I find 1080p on the TV or 1080i on the projector at 9.5 first row seating to 12 feet back row seating to be far, far acceptable and satisfactory enough.


Plus fact they want "us all" to spend out maybe each person thousands for blu4k discs within each year. The studios have got their bloody nerve. Sorry no more. Enough is enough. If produce blu4k Give them away for FREE for those of us already own the film on VHS laserdisc DVD HD-DVD and bluray. I'm sick and tried of being milked.

TonyD said:

Doesn't Netflix and DTV offer 4K programming.

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Yeah I seen a 4k logo on the netflix and I only paid for 1 month subscription for HD-1080p and what no Dolby Stereo digital plus 5.1? Only Dolby Stereo matrix with HD images, bloody cheek. Won't paying them for another month again.

Technology is constantly changing, right now if you want 4K then i would tell people to hold off buying a new TV or projector unless it has 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut, a minimum of 10 bit colour, at least some HDR capability and it's very important it can do HDCP 2.2 and has HDMI 2.0a. Rec.2020 won't arrive for at least five years on affordable consumer displays.

Unless this slipped anyone's mind, 8k? When does the madness end?


http://www.nhk.or.jp/8k/index_e.html

andySu said:

Unless this slipped anyone's mind, 8k? When does the madness end?

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Since when has evolution become madness, everything gets better, you can buy into it or stick with 400 line resolution laserdisc, indeed for sports broadcasts i can see the benefit of 8K and higher frame rates, but the bottom line is you either move with the times or don't buy into anything new and get left in the past, no one is buying a Super Nintendo* in John Lewis anymore and in five years time i think no one will be buying 1080p sets, it'll all be 4K with selected 8K sets and all more affordable too.



*Yes i know they still sell on Ebay, charity and secondhand shops but not in general stores anymore.

And of course, on the heels of 4K is 8K as I see some people noted.