What 4K TV to buy?
Discussion
I've been waiting for confirmation on what the standard is for 4K TV and what the BBC plan to start broadcasting in. My AV receiver supports 4K and HDMI 2.0a. So what TV to buy and when can we expect the content to be widely available? I only by a TV every 5 years so want something that will provide good service. Thinking 65 inch or so.
I've decided to hold off until there is more content available (whenever that will be). Although I found out recently that Amazon and Netflix do have 4k stuff, none of it seemed to be anything I'd choose to watch.
However, it did start me looking at 4k TVs and I was also looking at the 65" sizes. I'd originally assumed Samsung would be the way to go, but in fact it seems that LG are the only company who have really gone the OLED route and that seems to be considered superior in picture quality (certainly contrast and black levels) to most others.
However, it did start me looking at 4k TVs and I was also looking at the 65" sizes. I'd originally assumed Samsung would be the way to go, but in fact it seems that LG are the only company who have really gone the OLED route and that seems to be considered superior in picture quality (certainly contrast and black levels) to most others.
Personally, I'd forget 4k in isolation. There's little content, and that's unlikely to improve significantly for a few years.
Netflix have some of their original series in 4k, but it's highly compressed, so looks no better than a 1080p blueray (better than Sky 1080i, but nothing that will blow you away). Same for Amazon. Sky are supposedly going to start broadcasting 4k later this year, but I expect that will be 'Sky Cinema' only, and even then it will need to be seriously compressed to enable people to download it in a reasonable time.
The limiting factor is broadband speeds - 4k film files are pretty massive, and would take hours to D/L at current speeds.
If you're serious about watching films in their best format you'll want a HDR capable set (LG/Samsung/Song/Panasonic sell HDR sets under the 'Ultra HD Premium' banner) and a 4K HDR Blueray player (Samsung & Panasonic sell these). HDR is 4k with extended colour & brightness, and is a serious step up from 1080p... an HDR picture is quite spectacular!!
So by all means buy a new TV, but I wouldn't get fixated on 4k.
Netflix have some of their original series in 4k, but it's highly compressed, so looks no better than a 1080p blueray (better than Sky 1080i, but nothing that will blow you away). Same for Amazon. Sky are supposedly going to start broadcasting 4k later this year, but I expect that will be 'Sky Cinema' only, and even then it will need to be seriously compressed to enable people to download it in a reasonable time.
The limiting factor is broadband speeds - 4k film files are pretty massive, and would take hours to D/L at current speeds.
If you're serious about watching films in their best format you'll want a HDR capable set (LG/Samsung/Song/Panasonic sell HDR sets under the 'Ultra HD Premium' banner) and a 4K HDR Blueray player (Samsung & Panasonic sell these). HDR is 4k with extended colour & brightness, and is a serious step up from 1080p... an HDR picture is quite spectacular!!
So by all means buy a new TV, but I wouldn't get fixated on 4k.
Good info above.
Obviously, a prudent buyer buys nothing - as soon as you jump in there's another bit of news suggesting the next big thing just around the corner and you end up buying nothing.
A lot will depend on what you currently use - if you have a good plasma such as a recent Panny ZT then moving to an LED/LCD with limited 4K material won't make much sense.
However, if you're currently using a four year old LCD then the jump to a well set up LG Oled, even fed current 1080P bluray can be quite a jump (with the additional 'comfort' of knowing 4K HDR from HD discs will see a similar jump if/when you take the plunge).
I suggest visiting a reputable dealer and look at the various TVs - a little pointless comparing sets in a typical mega store with all settings on full - Richer sounds are normally good for this, price match and give good warranties.
They're not cheap but the 2016 LG sets ranging from the 'B' to the 'G' series are a sight to behold.
Obviously, a prudent buyer buys nothing - as soon as you jump in there's another bit of news suggesting the next big thing just around the corner and you end up buying nothing.
A lot will depend on what you currently use - if you have a good plasma such as a recent Panny ZT then moving to an LED/LCD with limited 4K material won't make much sense.
However, if you're currently using a four year old LCD then the jump to a well set up LG Oled, even fed current 1080P bluray can be quite a jump (with the additional 'comfort' of knowing 4K HDR from HD discs will see a similar jump if/when you take the plunge).
I suggest visiting a reputable dealer and look at the various TVs - a little pointless comparing sets in a typical mega store with all settings on full - Richer sounds are normally good for this, price match and give good warranties.
They're not cheap but the 2016 LG sets ranging from the 'B' to the 'G' series are a sight to behold.
Another vote for 4k OLED here but for that money you need to go and see for yourself, I have no experience of the latest LED TV's. The latest OLED's are as future proof as can currently be, with Dolby Vision support in case that takes off.
As for content I have started buying UHD BluRay discs. Seems the best way of getting content, if not the easiest or cheapest. Only worth bothering at the moment if you're really interested IMHO (as I am, obviously), standard BluRay look's pretty good on a high-spec modern TV. I have heard the very best LED TV's give a better 4k/HDR experience (I mean the Panasonic DX902 and Samsung KS9500 see reviews at hdtvtest.co.uk) but I would expect with anything else (including 3D) the OLED will be better.
As for content I have started buying UHD BluRay discs. Seems the best way of getting content, if not the easiest or cheapest. Only worth bothering at the moment if you're really interested IMHO (as I am, obviously), standard BluRay look's pretty good on a high-spec modern TV. I have heard the very best LED TV's give a better 4k/HDR experience (I mean the Panasonic DX902 and Samsung KS9500 see reviews at hdtvtest.co.uk) but I would expect with anything else (including 3D) the OLED will be better.
Edited by varsas on Monday 4th July 13:13
Interesting.
If the only real route to genuine 4k material is to buy the discs and play them at home it probably won't be a route I take. I have previously bought DVD / Bluray and ripped to my own NAS but have recently started switching to Amazon video, since it means I don't need to rip or use space on my NAS.
I would prefer the higher quality, but for me it's balanced with convenience. I might be persuaded to rip 4k and stream from my own NAS again (maybe) but I don't think I'll ever go back to the days of putting a DVD in a player.
If the only real route to genuine 4k material is to buy the discs and play them at home it probably won't be a route I take. I have previously bought DVD / Bluray and ripped to my own NAS but have recently started switching to Amazon video, since it means I don't need to rip or use space on my NAS.
I would prefer the higher quality, but for me it's balanced with convenience. I might be persuaded to rip 4k and stream from my own NAS again (maybe) but I don't think I'll ever go back to the days of putting a DVD in a player.
wormus said:
I've been waiting for confirmation on what the standard is for 4K TV and what the BBC plan to start broadcasting in. My AV receiver supports 4K and HDMI 2.0a. So what TV to buy and when can we expect the content to be widely available? I only by a TV every 5 years so want something that will provide good service. Thinking 65 inch or so.
God I really hate to break this to you, but your A1050 can only do 8bit colour, not 10bit, or 12bit which means no HDR for you (unless you go straight into the TV which sort of defeats the purpose of your A/V amp!)!I found out myself last night after reading AVForums.
It's okay bro, you can come in for a hug, we can be disappointed A1050 owners together.
Buying a TV now is a bit of a nightmare - it's not like 7, 8 years ago where you just bought the best plasma you could afford.
LG OLED's can look spectacular, but they are c.£3.5k for a 55" E series and £3k for a C series, so they should look bloody amazing! And they are still not perfect - they can suffer from blocking, black crush and banding.
A top end modern LCD is still better than even the later plasmas though. I've got a 65" JS9500 & 48" JS9000, and whilst there are moments when the blacks on a VT might be better if you're watching a particularly dark film, this is outweighed by the massively better brightness and colours you get on the LCD 99.9% of the time... the picture on them is incredibly clean when they are set up correctly.
As for where to buy from - Richer Sounds, all the way.
LG OLED's can look spectacular, but they are c.£3.5k for a 55" E series and £3k for a C series, so they should look bloody amazing! And they are still not perfect - they can suffer from blocking, black crush and banding.
A top end modern LCD is still better than even the later plasmas though. I've got a 65" JS9500 & 48" JS9000, and whilst there are moments when the blacks on a VT might be better if you're watching a particularly dark film, this is outweighed by the massively better brightness and colours you get on the LCD 99.9% of the time... the picture on them is incredibly clean when they are set up correctly.
As for where to buy from - Richer Sounds, all the way.
davek_964 said:
If the only real route to genuine 4k material is to buy the discs and play them at home it probably won't be a route I take.
It isn't the only way, but this:https://www.avforums.com/article/is-4k-netflix-bet...
http://www.whathifi.com/features/4k-streaming-vs-4...
seems to suggest that the streamed 4k versions are not much, if any, better than normal BluRay in quality, you'd expect this to improve with time. Just a note, you cannot rip 4k BluRays yet as the AACS 2.0 encryption has not been cracked. Hardware is there though so it could happen. For the forseable I'll be putting discs in a player!
Edited by varsas on Monday 4th July 13:53
Oakey said:
God I really hate to break this to you, but your A1050 can only do 8bit colour, not 10bit, or 12bit which means no HDR for you (unless you go straight into the TV which sort of defeats the purpose of your A/V amp!)!
I found out myself last night after reading AVForums.
It's okay bro, you can come in for a hug, we can be disappointed A1050 owners together.
I found out myself last night after reading AVForums.
It's okay bro, you can come in for a hug, we can be disappointed A1050 owners together.
Oakey said:
Actually, reading the forum again I might be wrong, the A1050 may do 4:4:4 10/12bit passthrough, it seems there's a bit of a... disagreement.. over the subject
Ahhhh, you're scaring me! It says:Video Features
• 4K60p 4:4:4 Pass through
• 4K video upscaling from analogue and HDMI input
• HDMI: 8 (1 on front) and 2 output with HDCP2.2 (7 in/2 out), 3D and Audio Return Channel
• Supports Deep Colour (30/36 bit), x.v.Colour, 24 Hz Refresh Rate and Auto Lip-Sync compensation
• High quality video processing with precise deinterlacing
- Motion adaptive and edge adaptive deinterlacing
- Multi-cadence (incl. 3-2 pull-down) detection
...whatever that means.
http://www.excelia-hifi.cz/yamaha/data/yamaha-rx-a...
Edited by anonymous-user on Monday 4th July 14:14
If you have the money either the LG or Panasonic OLED. If you have that sort of money get it from a proper AV dealer who will set it up and calibrate the screen properly for you. They'll also know if your current AMP will route the video properly for you. Other option for the audio/video is to get a separate HDMI switch box and route the audio over a separate HDMI cable, but you'll need to do some careful digging to find one that support 12bit.
Oakey said:
Actually, reading the forum again I might be wrong, the A1050 may do 4:4:4 10/12bit passthrough, it seems there's a bit of a... disagreement.. over the subject
If you're happy with the sound from your av amp you could always get a player with twin outputs (the Panny and Samsung HD players have this feature as far as I know) - one to display, the other (normally audio over hdmi) to the amp.Might be a pain selecting a different input on the display mind
Chris Stott said:
Personally, I'd forget 4k in isolation. There's little content, and that's unlikely to improve significantly for a few years.
Netflix have some of their original series in 4k, but it's highly compressed, so looks no better than a 1080p blueray (better than Sky 1080i, but nothing that will blow you away). Same for Amazon. Sky are supposedly going to start broadcasting 4k later this year, but I expect that will be 'Sky Cinema' only, and even then it will need to be seriously compressed to enable people to download it in a reasonable time.
Scratch the above.Netflix have some of their original series in 4k, but it's highly compressed, so looks no better than a 1080p blueray (better than Sky 1080i, but nothing that will blow you away). Same for Amazon. Sky are supposedly going to start broadcasting 4k later this year, but I expect that will be 'Sky Cinema' only, and even then it will need to be seriously compressed to enable people to download it in a reasonable time.
Somewhat surprisingly, Sky will start broadcasting 4k in mid August. No firm news on HDR yet, but likely later in the year.
Sports (prem & F1), Atlantic & movies.
Chris Stott said:
Scratch the above.
Somewhat surprisingly, Sky will start broadcasting 4k in mid August. No firm news on HDR yet, but likely later in the year.
Sports (prem & F1), Atlantic & movies.
Sky have been saying this since last year. We will start broadcasting 4K in the Spring then Summer now later in the yearSomewhat surprisingly, Sky will start broadcasting 4k in mid August. No firm news on HDR yet, but likely later in the year.
Sports (prem & F1), Atlantic & movies.
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