New TV - 4k UHD

sKwok12

sKwok12

Suspended / Banned
Messages
3
Name
Stephen
Edit My Images
Yes
Hello all,

Hopefully someone could help me...
Just looking to upgrade my TV from a 32" to a 55" for my new pad and debating whether or not to go Full HD, 4K, or 3D HD.

I'm leaning towards the 4K idea but need help explaining pros and cons.

Only considering 3D because cheaper by £50 and 4K because only a £50 difference...

Thanks in advance
 
Hi Stephen and welcome to Talk Photography.

Hope you enjoy yourself here.

Personally, I wouldn't bother with a 3D TV, whether 4K is worth it or not - I'm not sure. I would go to your local store and have a look at a good HD TV comparing it to a 4K on and see if you can notice the difference.

I'm sure I was reading another thread about 4K...

Look forward to seeing some of your photos ...
 
Last edited:
I have a Samsung Smart TV, which has 3D, but have never used it. However, the picture is excellent and stood out above the rest when we purchased.

When we decided on getting a new TV, we went to John Lewis in Peterborough to have a look what was on offer. One test we did was to stand back in the showroom and view every TV they had working, which numbered about 50. It became very obvious that the Samsung 8000 Smart TV stood out streets ahead of the rest. It wasn't cheap, but we have never regretted the purchase.
 
Hi and thanks for your opinions.

I did pop into Currys over the boxing day sales to see what my options were. I must say, I am very impressed by 4k quality as opposed to full HD.
I mean full HD still produces decent results for me, just thinking more into the future when 4k will be (Hopefully!) more widely available.

Never been a massive fan of 3D as I wear glasses and it's a struggle to wear glasses on top of glasses, and plus I don't think I'd use it that much.

I suppose the same could be said with 4k, but it comes without the struggle of the glasses... I'm just a sucker for new tech.

Just want to know if it be worth investing in one?
 
until 4k content becomes readily available its worth seeing which screens can upscale 1080 nicely.

i was in JL recently and some of the upscaling was excellent. i didnt take not of models though as was only window shopping/drooling.
 
I noticed in a store over the weekend that a demo on one of the UHD TVs was running a side by side split screen upscaling comparison and I have to say if was total BS.
The left hand side was supposed to repesent current 1080HD, but was so crap you'd have questioned your own eyesight looking at it.
Not saying it's a con....far from it, just saying they need to be honest and not try to mislead, which in this instance I believe they were.

(It was a damn lovely looking telly though :lol: )
 
i dunno, non-upscaled is going to look poor. the difference in res will do that much like watching SD content on a 1080 display looks naff.

but i know what you mean i think i saw the same thing and it did look odd. however they cannot upscale half of the screen so one half will be artificially unsharpened on the source content. whether or not they exaggerated it i could not tell you. only way to tell would be side by side comparison but youd need 2 displays. or to toggle the upscale on/off i guess?
 
sKwok12 said:
Never been a massive fan of 3D as I wear glasses and it's a struggle to wear glasses on top of glasses, and plus I don't think I'd use it that much.
Click to expand...


I bought a 3D TV - not because I wanted 3d but because the top of the range Sony I wanted had it. I've probably used it half a dozen times and it's actually very impressive if a little tiring to watch.

But since there aren't any widespread 4k sources ATM I'd buy a decent HD (maybe 3D - they tend to get the best 2D). When 4k is out and standard and popular then the tellies with it will be cheap and you can upgrade.
 
depends on your viewing distance as to whether 4k is worth it. I'm watching a 48" tv from about 3.3m so for me i'd not really notice it, if it was a bigger TV and I was sitting closer then it would be noticed. Content is another issue but you need to choose based on use and viewing distance as well.

my tv is a 6670 samsung, which is really rather good. samsung make good TVs.
 
The best TVs all have 3d anyway. Or at least they did when I last looked. Going for a non 3d model would have been a compromise.

Personally I wouldn't go for 4k yet. Too few content available, thus a compromise for 99% of the time whilst up scaling content.
 
Can anyone please explain upscaling to me - I thought it meant that an image was enhanced thus making, for example, a 4k TV showing HD content look better than say a HD TV showing the same program.
I too got shown the split screen demo and all I came away with was a deeper lack of trust of TV salesmen..
 
stevewestern said:
Can anyone please explain upscaling to me - I thought it meant that an image was enhanced thus making, for example, a 4k TV showing HD content look better than say a HD TV showing the same program.
I too got shown the split screen demo and all I came away with was a deeper lack of trust of TV salesmen..
Click to expand...
Let's just look at it this way. You can't magically fill in pixels that didn't exist in the first place. Would you enlarge a 1920x1080 photo 3840x2160? Sure algorithms vary and are getting better, but adding what isn't there just doesn't do it for me.
 
I'll chip in here...
I bought the 4k curved 55" 8500 Samsung last April, quite frankly I've been nothing but impressed with it.
for "regular" HD content, the picture is crisp, but for either 4k content or viewing my photo's at full size, it is simply incredible.

When I bought it 10 months ago there were cries of "no content available", but even back then there was... and now, even more so.
There are 4k films on Netflix, and youtube has hundreds (if not thousands) of 4k clips - and of course with things like the go-pro, some smart phones, and the latest DSLR's also filming in 4k, the content is only going to get more varied - And yes, I have watched quite a lot of it now, and it's very impressive!
Also, HDMI2 standard is set and released, so data transfer isn't an issue either (another 'against' argument I was given).

As for 3D, well, I didn't get a choice, it came with the TV, but the 4K means that the 3D image is "Full HD" 3D instead of 720 (which you get on a 'normal' HDTV)...
I can't say I'm a serial user of it though... infact I've only watched one film on it - Planes, Fire & Rescue. But that said, the 3D effect was bloody good!! Only downside was indeed the glasses - but given the infrequency of me using them, it's not a killer for me.


Am I glad I bought 4k? Yes definitely.
Should I have waited? possibly, but only because I could by my same TV for £1000 less than I paid 10 months ago! LOL, but that's the price I pay for having stuff on release day :D

I'll probably upgrade when OLED 4K comes out, but thats at least a few years away yet (in sensible prices anyway).
 
dejongj said:
Let's just look at it this way. You can't magically fill in pixels that didn't exist in the first place. Would you enlarge a 1920x1080 photo 3840x2160? Sure algorithms vary and are getting better, but adding what isn't there just doesn't do it for me.
Click to expand...
Thanks JP - what you say makes perfect sense, and so far the few TV salespeople I have spoken to have done nothing to help explain other than to tell me how much better it looks.
 
Just on that 'magically adding pixels', it's no different than simplified photoshopping ;)
so by comparing pixels 2 spaces apart, it will infill the centre one with the difference... thereby smoothing out the image.... obviously it's more complex than that, but it's quite easy to 'add' pixels as can be seen in every subsection of this forum :)
 
RacingSnake said:
I'll chip in here...
I bought the 4k curved 55" 8500 Samsung last April, quite frankly I've been nothing but impressed with it.
for "regular" HD content, the picture is crisp, but for either 4k content or viewing my photo's at full size, it is simply incredible.

When I bought it 10 months ago there were cries of "no content available", but even back then there was... and now, even more so.
There are 4k films on Netflix, and youtube has hundreds (if not thousands) of 4k clips - and of course with things like the go-pro, some smart phones, and the latest DSLR's also filming in 4k, the content is only going to get more varied - And yes, I have watched quite a lot of it now, and it's very impressive!
Also, HDMI2 standard is set and released, so data transfer isn't an issue either (another 'against' argument I was given).

As for 3D, well, I didn't get a choice, it came with the TV, but the 4K means that the 3D image is "Full HD" 3D instead of 720 (which you get on a 'normal' HDTV)...
I can't say I'm a serial user of it though... infact I've only watched one film on it - Planes, Fire & Rescue. But that said, the 3D effect was bloody good!! Only downside was indeed the glasses - but given the infrequency of me using them, it's not a killer for me.


Am I glad I bought 4k? Yes definitely.
Should I have waited? possibly, but only because I could by my same TV for £1000 less than I paid 10 months ago! LOL, but that's the price I pay for having stuff on release day :D

I'll probably upgrade when OLED 4K comes out, but thats at least a few years away yet (in sensible prices anyway).
Click to expand...

So in reality then,you paid out that for a Tv to watch film clips and view your photos for 2% of the time and watch all the other crap being broadcast for the remainder 88%? 4K is just another standard introduced that will just get people to spend their cash on something that is outdated.Whilst watching 1080p from whatever source, it is in reality not that much better than a good Full HD tv.
 
u8myufo said:
So in reality then,you paid out that for a Tv to watch film clips and view your photos for 2% of the time and watch all the other crap being broadcast for the remainder 88%? 4K is just another standard introduced that will just get people to spend their cash on something that is outdated.Whilst watching 1080p from whatever source, it is in reality not that much better than a good Full HD tv.
Click to expand...
Steady on chap....
My last 'plasma' TV lasted me 8 years.... If I'm going to buy another telly I'm not going to buy 'old tech' (HD) now, and then in the next 1,2 years be out of date again...
So in essence I am future proofing myself for the next few years, until the next technology comes along. ;)

Even my wife thinks the picture is great and she is the least technological person you'll meet!
 
Last edited:
RacingSnake said:
Steady on chap....
My last 'plasma' TV lasted me 8 years.... If I'm going to buy another telly I'm not going to buy 'old tech' (HD) now, and then in the next 1,2 years be out of date again...
So in essence I am future proofing myself for the next few years, until the next technology comes along. ;)

Even my wife thinks the picture is great and she is the least technological person you'll meet!
Click to expand...

What is there to go steady about? With all due respect I am not quoting how long your last TV lasted or what you are future proofing.The point is for the OP that 4k for all what it is hyped up to be is not that much better than 1080p on a decent Hd set.In fact I wonder what it is you think you have actualy future proofed yourself with now? Only my thoughts,just as your thoughts you think 4k is the best thing out there ;)
 
u8myufo said:
What is there to go steady about? With all due respect I am not quoting how long your last TV lasted or what you are future proofing.The point is for the OP that 4k for all what it is hyped up to be is not that much better than 1080p on a decent Hd set.In fact I wonder what it is you think you have actualy future proofed yourself with now? Only my thoughts,just as your thoughts you think 4k is the best thing out there ;)
Click to expand...

With all due respect, if you can't see the massive difference between 4K and HD, it's time for a visit to SpecSavers!
 
Mikesphotaes said:
With all due respect, if you can't see the massive difference between 4K and HD, it's time for a visit to SpecSavers!
Click to expand...
I'm pretty certain he meant the difference between 1080p on a native good quality 1080p set and 1080p upscale on a 4K set ;)

At this moment in time I prefer the earlier. Some scalers can be very very good, granted. Heck my Oppo is a really good scaler of source material where previously you had get specialist gear. However I still see it is upscale content and it annoys me.

Once there are proper feature length movies available for which they don't require Internet streaming I'm in.
 
dejongj said:
... for which they don't require Internet streaming I'm in.
Click to expand...
Aren't there 4k Blu-ray players and 4k movies on disc already?... but I've never had any issues with internet streaming - though I concede 4k films are going to take a lot of bandwidth!!

This is one of those topics which will always start a good debate :D

For what its worth, I don't regret my purchase, I can clearly see the difference between native 4k vs HD, and I'd argue my 'upscaled' 4k from HD picture is much better than a HD-only set - and of course I'm in a position to make this direct comparison... a lot of people only read and regurgitate what they've read on the internet - which is probably also out of date by a years worth of technology :)
All IMO of course ;)
 
u8myufo said:
What is there to go steady about? ....With all due respect I ...
Click to expand...
The steady comment was with regards to your assumptions (and dodgy mathematics ;) ) on my viewing habits.... and in internet speak, "with all due respect" means "with no respect due at all" :mad:
with regards to your comment on my future proofing, for me, I see 4k content becoming increasingly mainstream, so I'm "in there" early this time.

I was simply trying to provide some balance as an owner (and gadget-fan), to the usual arguments which were wheeled out over a year ago when the first 4k sets came onto the mainstream market - without such powerful upscaling engines, or even HDMI2 compatibility. :whistle:

Anyway OP, you have sparked a debate with hopefully 2 sides of the coin - let us know how you get on! LOL
 
I won't be upgrading to 4k until oled screens are a reasonable price. The biggest problem with sets ATM is uneven lighting across the screen, IMO.

By then there will be more readily available content too.

You don't need 4k to get 3d in full hd, you need the active, rather than the passive, version.
 
Apologies if it's already been said, but choice of TV depends entirely on the source input.

As far as I know, genuine broadcast 1080p is limited, let alone 4k. I think Sky's HD content is usually 720 or 1080i. 3D seems a bit pointless to me on such a small scale, although I can't say I was particularly amazed by it anyway, even at IMAX, but that's just me.

I love movies and have a 1080p display streaming Netflix US (supports up to 4k) over an 80mbit fibre connection. You'd require 25Mbit minimum to stream 4k. I might go 4k in about 3-5 years time, once it's more established.
 
Mikesphotaes said:
With all due respect, if you can't see the massive difference between 4K and HD, it's time for a visit to SpecSavers!
Click to expand...

And in which part in either of my posts did I mention you cannot see a diference?What was that you were saying about glasses? ;)
 
@RacingSnake With all due respect in my world means I am not trying to take the mickey ;) So I am not knocking the fact you have a 4k TV but I quote as of March 2014 " When 8K will reach the rest of the world is another matter. The UK still doesn't have 4Kbroadcasts yet; House of Cards on Netflix via the internet is as close as it gets. And UHD TVs are still not really cheap enough for mass uptake.But the BBC, Sky and BT Sport are all working on delivering 4K – there just isn't a time frame set out as yet. So upgrading to a 4K TV should still be worth doing to get a good few years of life out of it at least. " So all I am saying is I personaly think 4K will die a death, or if and when enough content is streamed you will pay a hefty premium to watch it.Look how long it took for us to get HD into our front rooms and the majority of what we can get is crap anyhow.Just saying :)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
u8myufo said:
And in which part in either of my posts did I mention you cannot see a diference?What was that you were saying about glasses? ;)
Click to expand...

Massive is the word!
 
Anyway the bottom line is 4K is way better than HD!
 
dejongj said:
I'm pretty certain he meant the difference between 1080p on a native good quality 1080p set and 1080p upscale on a 4K set ;)

At this moment in time I prefer the earlier. Some scalers can be very very good, granted. Heck my Oppo is a really good scaler of source material where previously you had get specialist gear. However I still see it is upscale content and it annoys me.

Once there are proper feature length movies available for which they don't require Internet streaming I'm in.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty certain he didn't!
 
is it just me or is the foul language on the forum getting a bit playground like..

anyway on topic, the samsung 4k screens i saw in JL looked like they pretty much nailed upscaling. granted it was demo content.
 
With a bit of poetic freedom applied, as Luther said, ain't no stopping you, your in the groove......
 
Right, after a lot of umming and arring, I think I'll just go with a standard Full HD. 4k TV was £800, 3D was £750, or I could get a Full HD for "just" £629. A big difference in price and was in the shops again to check out 4k, and thanks to Matt, put it in perspective for me with the chart. The distance I'll be sitting at home won't make much difference.

Think I'll also wait a few years until 4k becomes more readily available. For now it's just another gimmick like 3D...

Please let me know if I'm making a right decision?
 
I recently got a 40inch 4k 3D TV (Philips 40PUS6809) from Argos for £449 and its a great tv. 3D works really well (which I was dreading). The only issue I have is that some 3D tv's such as the one I have do not have ability to decode HEVC which is now the standard but found I can stream from my Mac in 4K and have picked up a cheap android media center that can play videos (from files, youtube and netflix) in 4K too.

I think 4K is my addication
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top