Is 4K worth the extra, can't decide between these 2 TVs.
Discussion
Hello clever people.
A little help please.........as I can't find any reviews of these new TVs yet. Maybe they're too new to have been reviewed........?
I think I've narrowed my new TV choice down to these two.
I want 48-50", YouView (or similar as I m might cancel Sky) possibly 3D although not sure if it'll ever get used. Full HD.
Question is, is 4K really worth it. I have a blu-ray player but am the kind of guy who isn't fussed wether I buy a movie on DVD or BR really. I can see the difference in picture quality, but it doesn't really bother me if it's in SD. Do I need to "future proof" my new TV as I won't be getting another one for 5 - 10 years! My current 40 inch samsung must be 7 years old. The bezel is about 2 inches thick!! This new 49 inch Sony is only physically 3cm wider than my current 40 incher!
Either this one - 4K (but no 3D)
http://www.johnlewis.com/sony-bravia-kd49x83-4k-ul...
Or this one, that's not 4K but has 3D.
http://www.johnlewis.com/sony-bravia-kdl50w80-led-...
Thank you for any tips and advice.
A little help please.........as I can't find any reviews of these new TVs yet. Maybe they're too new to have been reviewed........?
I think I've narrowed my new TV choice down to these two.
I want 48-50", YouView (or similar as I m might cancel Sky) possibly 3D although not sure if it'll ever get used. Full HD.
Question is, is 4K really worth it. I have a blu-ray player but am the kind of guy who isn't fussed wether I buy a movie on DVD or BR really. I can see the difference in picture quality, but it doesn't really bother me if it's in SD. Do I need to "future proof" my new TV as I won't be getting another one for 5 - 10 years! My current 40 inch samsung must be 7 years old. The bezel is about 2 inches thick!! This new 49 inch Sony is only physically 3cm wider than my current 40 incher!
Either this one - 4K (but no 3D)
http://www.johnlewis.com/sony-bravia-kd49x83-4k-ul...
Or this one, that's not 4K but has 3D.
http://www.johnlewis.com/sony-bravia-kdl50w80-led-...
Thank you for any tips and advice.
Do you like 3D?
I was an early adopter, but literally used it a dozen times in 3 or 4 years.
Now, with a 4K tv the upscaling is so good, and the sense of depth so clear, that watching in 3D actually spoils it and makes it look rather fake.
Watching blu-ray on our new 4K TV was far superior to the older 1080P set, and the difference between DVD and Blu-ray instantly clear.
I was an early adopter, but literally used it a dozen times in 3 or 4 years.
Now, with a 4K tv the upscaling is so good, and the sense of depth so clear, that watching in 3D actually spoils it and makes it look rather fake.
Watching blu-ray on our new 4K TV was far superior to the older 1080P set, and the difference between DVD and Blu-ray instantly clear.
I've got last year's version of that HD set. It's a lovely thing, so the updated model with Android OS should be fantastic.
I weighed up the same question last year, because like you I won't be upgrading for many years. I reasoned that 4k would take a number of years to become a mainstream default, and that technology would only get better in the meantime and prices would come down in real terms. Therefore I saved my cash and went for HD rather than 4K.
I weighed up the same question last year, because like you I won't be upgrading for many years. I reasoned that 4k would take a number of years to become a mainstream default, and that technology would only get better in the meantime and prices would come down in real terms. Therefore I saved my cash and went for HD rather than 4K.
It's only really worth going 4K if you have a projector IMHO, given the seating distance from most TVs. However, 4K (or rather UHD players) isn't only about resolution, it is about improved bit depth and expanded colour gamut which is ironic since many existing '4k' TVs aren't going to be able to take full advantage of these added features: You need the ability for P3 colour gamut (a subset of rec2020 IIUIC) and the display should be able to accept, process and display 10 bit rather than 8 bit as many currently do (8 bit is the limit of BluRay).
Finally you will need an external device to display any 4K (other than upscaled of course) since the TV tuner built in won't be able to receive any 4K transmissions (if they ever start to transmit them via Freeview/Freesat). So you could argue that they aren't '4K TVs' anyway, but '4K displays'.
My parents recently asked a similar question recently and they saved £300 by going for the equivalent 1080p model. They don't even own a BluRay player or Sky, so they wouldn't benefit from the extra expense...I suggested they put that towards their next holiday instead.
Finally you will need an external device to display any 4K (other than upscaled of course) since the TV tuner built in won't be able to receive any 4K transmissions (if they ever start to transmit them via Freeview/Freesat). So you could argue that they aren't '4K TVs' anyway, but '4K displays'.
My parents recently asked a similar question recently and they saved £300 by going for the equivalent 1080p model. They don't even own a BluRay player or Sky, so they wouldn't benefit from the extra expense...I suggested they put that towards their next holiday instead.
Thanks guys. Most helpful comments.
A friend has just thrown in a swerve ball and suggested this "cheap" panny that'll do a decent job for a couple years until the 4k issue is sorted.
It's apparently a new set for 2015 and I expect it'll be a great picture with zero of the 'smart' frills.
Hmmm. Tricky choices!
http://www.johnlewis.com/panasonic-viera-tx-48c300...
A friend has just thrown in a swerve ball and suggested this "cheap" panny that'll do a decent job for a couple years until the 4k issue is sorted.
It's apparently a new set for 2015 and I expect it'll be a great picture with zero of the 'smart' frills.
Hmmm. Tricky choices!
http://www.johnlewis.com/panasonic-viera-tx-48c300...
Mr Noble said:
Thanks guys. Most helpful comments.
A friend has just thrown in a swerve ball and suggested this "cheap" panny that'll do a decent job for a couple years until the 4k issue is sorted.
It's apparently a new set for 2015 and I expect it'll be a great picture with zero of the 'smart' frills.
Hmmm. Tricky choices!
http://www.johnlewis.com/panasonic-viera-tx-48c300...
I bought a 65" JVC HD TV here in the US for the eqivalent of £500. Figured that would tie me over for a couple of years until the big 4K TV's are much cheaper and better. Going from 50" to 65" seemed to have a greater effect than 4K which my stupid eyes these days wouldn't see from more than a few feet away!A friend has just thrown in a swerve ball and suggested this "cheap" panny that'll do a decent job for a couple years until the 4k issue is sorted.
It's apparently a new set for 2015 and I expect it'll be a great picture with zero of the 'smart' frills.
Hmmm. Tricky choices!
http://www.johnlewis.com/panasonic-viera-tx-48c300...
For the record, I went ahead and bought the 49 inch Sony 4K linked in my original post above.
After some serious faffing about trying to get it to work with the ARC feature on my Yamaha YSP3300 sound bar, and failing, I got it all set up and working correctly. (HDMI control doesn't work with this TV and the setting on the Yamaha needs to be switched off, which is an annoying shame.)
The picture is great, most of the time. I've switched the auto brightness setting off as it made the picture too dark at night and too bright in the day time on a sunny day. I prefer it to be the same all the time.
4K upscaling is amazing, movies on bluray look like CGI the picture is so sharp and clear. In fact, I'm not sure I like it! There is almost too much detail, making the picture look artificial. I've not messed about with the settings too much yet though, so there is probably room to turn it all down a bit.
Only niggle, is that the menus are a bit laggy and slow. Possibly due to a "tweet' feature that I can't seem to disable where the TV constantly looks for tweets associated with the programs hat are currently airing, like #BBCQT would be for Question Time etc. It could be an issue with my slow broadband too, not sure.
After some serious faffing about trying to get it to work with the ARC feature on my Yamaha YSP3300 sound bar, and failing, I got it all set up and working correctly. (HDMI control doesn't work with this TV and the setting on the Yamaha needs to be switched off, which is an annoying shame.)
The picture is great, most of the time. I've switched the auto brightness setting off as it made the picture too dark at night and too bright in the day time on a sunny day. I prefer it to be the same all the time.
4K upscaling is amazing, movies on bluray look like CGI the picture is so sharp and clear. In fact, I'm not sure I like it! There is almost too much detail, making the picture look artificial. I've not messed about with the settings too much yet though, so there is probably room to turn it all down a bit.
Only niggle, is that the menus are a bit laggy and slow. Possibly due to a "tweet' feature that I can't seem to disable where the TV constantly looks for tweets associated with the programs hat are currently airing, like #BBCQT would be for Question Time etc. It could be an issue with my slow broadband too, not sure.
4K with dedicated content is going to be a lot better then 1080. In shops the 4k tv's will have a dedicated 4k video input(dongle). I brought a TV a few months back and I was looking at 4k but I read 4k is a lot more beneficial in TV's over 50 inch.
As far as broadcasting live TV goes which I know for fact as I work in the industry, then its way over the suppliers current capability. For eg; in a current frequency range we can carry typically 8-12 standard definition channels per frequency. HD typically 2-4 channels per frequency depending on quality (720p-1080p). A 4k stream would be 1 channel per frequency as its x4 of HD. Now we broadcast from roughly 100mhz to quite recently and not everywhere 1000mhz. Trouble is the higher frequency 1000mhz is so acceptable to Noise, its very hard to keep it clean.
I may be completely wrong here but 4k will come through your internet when we can offer at least a few hundred meg to the house for live tv streaming, not On demand.
3D had died on its arse, Its very good for films but the TV manufactures have givin up on trying to produce a 3d TV without the need of glasses. Lets face it we are not going to watch the 6 o'clock news with 3d glasses on.
I have also heard rumors that our friends in Japan are pushing 8k. That is totally out of the reach electrical frequency tv. Optical as in fibre is the only thing that can handle that.
As far as broadcasting live TV goes which I know for fact as I work in the industry, then its way over the suppliers current capability. For eg; in a current frequency range we can carry typically 8-12 standard definition channels per frequency. HD typically 2-4 channels per frequency depending on quality (720p-1080p). A 4k stream would be 1 channel per frequency as its x4 of HD. Now we broadcast from roughly 100mhz to quite recently and not everywhere 1000mhz. Trouble is the higher frequency 1000mhz is so acceptable to Noise, its very hard to keep it clean.
I may be completely wrong here but 4k will come through your internet when we can offer at least a few hundred meg to the house for live tv streaming, not On demand.
3D had died on its arse, Its very good for films but the TV manufactures have givin up on trying to produce a 3d TV without the need of glasses. Lets face it we are not going to watch the 6 o'clock news with 3d glasses on.
I have also heard rumors that our friends in Japan are pushing 8k. That is totally out of the reach electrical frequency tv. Optical as in fibre is the only thing that can handle that.
Mikeyjae said:
4K with dedicated content is going to be a lot better then 1080. In shops the 4k tv's will have a dedicated 4k video input(dongle). I brought a TV a few months back and I was looking at 4k but I read 4k is a lot more beneficial in TV's over 50 inch.
As far as broadcasting live TV goes which I know for fact as I work in the industry, then its way over the suppliers current capability. For eg; in a current frequency range we can carry typically 8-12 standard definition channels per frequency. HD typically 2-4 channels per frequency depending on quality (720p-1080p). A 4k stream would be 1 channel per frequency as its x4 of HD. Now we broadcast from roughly 100mhz to quite recently and not everywhere 1000mhz. Trouble is the higher frequency 1000mhz is so acceptable to Noise, its very hard to keep it clean.
I may be completely wrong here but 4k will come through your internet when we can offer at least a few hundred meg to the house for live tv streaming, not On demand.
3D had died on its arse, Its very good for films but the TV manufactures have givin up on trying to produce a 3d TV without the need of glasses. Lets face it we are not going to watch the 6 o'clock news with 3d glasses on.
I have also heard rumors that our friends in Japan are pushing 8k. That is totally out of the reach electrical frequency tv. Optical as in fibre is the only thing that can handle that.
Netflix are doing 4K streaming now A stable 25Mg line is needed. As far as broadcasting live TV goes which I know for fact as I work in the industry, then its way over the suppliers current capability. For eg; in a current frequency range we can carry typically 8-12 standard definition channels per frequency. HD typically 2-4 channels per frequency depending on quality (720p-1080p). A 4k stream would be 1 channel per frequency as its x4 of HD. Now we broadcast from roughly 100mhz to quite recently and not everywhere 1000mhz. Trouble is the higher frequency 1000mhz is so acceptable to Noise, its very hard to keep it clean.
I may be completely wrong here but 4k will come through your internet when we can offer at least a few hundred meg to the house for live tv streaming, not On demand.
3D had died on its arse, Its very good for films but the TV manufactures have givin up on trying to produce a 3d TV without the need of glasses. Lets face it we are not going to watch the 6 o'clock news with 3d glasses on.
I have also heard rumors that our friends in Japan are pushing 8k. That is totally out of the reach electrical frequency tv. Optical as in fibre is the only thing that can handle that.
8K is coming...... but.... in reality it is a good few years away..... It drinks bandwidth....
As mentioned earlier in the thread 4k is mostly pointless for screen sizes less than 60". Upscaled HD to 4K always looks overly processed to my eyes and just reduces motion quality on things like live sport. You can't add information that isn't already there.
Much better to focus on the factors that really determine image quality like colour gamut and contrast/black levels. Just compare the LG HD OLED panels against even the very best 4k LEDs and there really is no contest - even the best LEDs look washed out and grey.
4K OLED with HDR support for 4k Bluray will be available at the end of the year (hopefully at somewhere near a sensible price!) so that is when I'll consider switching from my Panasonic Plasma.
Much better to focus on the factors that really determine image quality like colour gamut and contrast/black levels. Just compare the LG HD OLED panels against even the very best 4k LEDs and there really is no contest - even the best LEDs look washed out and grey.
4K OLED with HDR support for 4k Bluray will be available at the end of the year (hopefully at somewhere near a sensible price!) so that is when I'll consider switching from my Panasonic Plasma.
No point
Unless you're fond of paying fortunes for the same films in a new format where will you get the media
Now TV can't even stream in 720p most of the time and I'm on infinity
Not all 1080p sets are the same, there's a reason some 55" TVs are £600 and some are £2000
It's the blacks that make the picture not the resolution
I used to have an expensive 1080i 42" Panasonic but swapped it for a cheaper 50" 1080p Panasonic , I was really disappointed and regretted it for months
Went to a 65" Samsung and all is well again, buy a good 1080p set, read a lot of reviews
Unless you're fond of paying fortunes for the same films in a new format where will you get the media
Now TV can't even stream in 720p most of the time and I'm on infinity
Not all 1080p sets are the same, there's a reason some 55" TVs are £600 and some are £2000
It's the blacks that make the picture not the resolution
I used to have an expensive 1080i 42" Panasonic but swapped it for a cheaper 50" 1080p Panasonic , I was really disappointed and regretted it for months
Went to a 65" Samsung and all is well again, buy a good 1080p set, read a lot of reviews
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