Thread: 4K or not?

I'm going to be looking for a new TV within the next month or so. I've been doing a bit of reading about whether or not 4k is a useful feature worth paying for or not. From the limited reading I've done it is being said unless you sit real close there is no discernible difference between 4k and 1080p. What say you?

I can definitely tell the difference if I take the time to polish the bevel on the 4k before moving up in grit (sorry, Wid, someone had to do it). Merry Christmas, and good luck with your tv!

From what I understand there is not much content on TV that is 4K yet although it is growing slowly. If I did not need to replace a TV right away I would wait a years or so. The bonus is that 4K TVs would likely be cheaper by then too. OTH if you get a 4K now you enjoy it sooner what there is of it.

Bob

They keep coming out with new technologies. 4K is almost old hat already and there isn't that much content. You also need a big screen to see the difference. if it was me I'd wait a couple years when the curved screen oled T.Vs get cheaper and that will be the time to buy. In the meantime you can get a big 1028P T.V dirt cheap.

It also depends on the quality of TV that you purchase and its longevity. Most of the TV's that I buy last 10 years or more. So it can be kind of a crap shoot of what technology to buy into. I'm a stingy spender, so I typically buy into older technologies that are proven and kinks have been worked out.

I bought a TV recently and went with a simple 50" 1080 HD TV, with no "smart" (internet capable) features. I went away from the Smart TV's because I stream everything through an Xbox and it would be redundant to pay more to have smart features that are already available to me. However, they just released an xbox that is capable of higher definition. So it can also depend on how you obtain your entertainment and the hardware. Cable services have been working to switch to more digital signals so that they can increase the quality down the road. Although, I haven't really read into the limitations of satellite/cable/over-the-air and their respective resolutions nor the hardware that they offer.

I'll answer with actual experience in a few days

We just upgraded From Santa: to Glen & Shan

we have upgraded all the other TV's in the house over the last 15 years but the main 55" in the living room has resisted breaking down
I bought us a Mitsubishi 55" rear Projection "BOX" back in 2003 and it has work flawlessly, we kept telling ourselves for the past 3 or so years "As soon as it breaks we will upgrade" freaking monster is the energizer bunny of TV's
Well the deal came together I couldn't say no to with Best Buy doing a 0% offer to price match a 70" 4k UHD and the sound bar to match, I have a hard time saying no to borrowing free money

We are going to do the full upgrade starting tomorrow so I will let you know, I know it will shame the 55" but we have a pretty good 46" in the upstairs guest room so that will be the real comparison...

Give me a few days and most likely a ton of cussing and I will let ya know hehehe

First time I ever bought a new Electronic Stud Finder too this should be fun Bahahahaha I am foreseeing a ton of little nail holes and a dent in the opposite wall from where I throw it

ps: we have ZERO steaming capabilities etc: at the ranch so the only 4K will be from discs, we do have HD Direct so that should be a bit better on the new TV

Originally Posted by gssixgun

I'll answer with actual experience in a few days

We just upgraded From Santa: to Glen & Shan

we have upgraded all the other TV's in the house over the last 15 years but the main 55" in the living room has resisted breaking down
I bought us a Mitsubishi 55" rear Projection "BOX" back in 2003 and it has work flawlessly, we kept telling ourselves for the past 3 or so years "As soon as it breaks we will upgrade" freaking monster is the energizer bunny of TV's
Well the deal came together I couldn't say no to with Best Buy doing a 0% offer to price match a 70" 4k UHD and the sound bar to match, I have a hard time saying no to borrowing free money

We are going to do the full upgrade starting tomorrow so I will let you know, I know it will shame the 55" but we have a pretty good 46" in the upstairs guest room so that will be the real comparison...

Give me a few days and most likely a ton of cussing and I will let ya know hehehe

First time I ever bought a new Electronic Stud Finder too this should be fun Bahahahaha I am foreseeing a ton of little nail holes and a dent in the opposite wall from where I throw it

ps: we have ZERO steaming capabilities etc: at the ranch so the only 4K will be from discs, we do have HD Direct so that should be a bit better on the new TV

Some of the earlier smart TV's came with ethernet ports, if it is due to lack of wirelessness. OTOH, some Samsungs can only be connected by buying a separate wireless device.

Personally, at "viewing distance" I don't have the room for a screen large enough for 4K screen to make a significant difference (I'd need an 80"+ screen).

If you walk right up to the screen (which is exactly what they do at the stores, and they also turn everything as bright as possible), naturally you will see increased sharpness and smaller pixels. When you look at the screen from your favourite chair, you won't see those pixels on either screen. 4k is nice, but to me at least, it's not worth the $$$. Neither are the *smart* features.... I prefer to use a separate device that I can keep up to date and upgrade when it starts to struggle with whatever it does. You won't be able to upgrade a smart TV, so the solution is to buy a new one... but the old display is still fine, it's just the little sub $100 mini computer inside that needs replacing. Updates are another thing. Manufacturers are notorious for not providing updates. Updates cost money and they want to sell you the NEW thing they make. Just look at cell phones and how most providers don't give you the OTA updates until much later, if at all. And some companies even go out of their way to prevent you from changing the software, so you can continue to use the device.

I have a 1080P now, and I won't upgrade until they include real HDR together with 4K or whatever it is by then. If my TV fails before then, I won't be shopping for a 4K TV unless they've stopped making 1080P.

As dinnermint mentions, connectivity is a big thing for me. I have lots of weird stuff I want to be able to connect to my display, and I choose my TV based on that. Then again, I'm a bit of a geek, and I've been known to grab the soldering iron and modify stuff. I am probably NOT your average consumer.


Regards

Christian

We bought a 55" 4K tv this summer and I can tell when the content is 4K. The light looks like sun light with incredible details and shadows. I can even see dust floating through sun rays on the show. I like it. Most content is not 4K but most movies have either some version of HD or 4K. This is from someone who can barely tell the difference between regular and blue ray.

We have a 10-15 year old 1080p Sony that I can see dust floating through the sun rays in some shows. Those must be shows broadcast in HD.

I think you have to scale the size of your TV and it's output resolution to your normal viewing distance. The closer you view from and the larger the screen the more 4K makes sense.

Bob