What 4K TV to buy?
Discussion
wormus said:
Chris Stott said:
UHD comes August 13. Confirmed.
What about Freeview/Freesat ? BBC can't be that far behind? 
Munka01 said:
Amusing that for over a year on here every supposed 'TV expert' categorically advised everyone against buying a 4K tv as there would never be any mainstream 4k content available.
Glad I didn't listen and waste money on a non-4k TV.
To be fair, it's taken a long time for the 4K standard to be agreed and there was a high risk of buying the next "Betamax" TV. Bit chicken and egg as broadcasters didn't want to invest in the wrong technology and had already been burned by the flop of 3D TV. Glad I didn't listen and waste money on a non-4k TV.
A standard is/has emerged so now the content should follow and the TVs themselves should fall in price.
http://www.techradar.com/news/television/ultra-hd-...
Thought it was a done deal with the standard quite a few months ago, apart from the rubber stamp. Firms will have needed to know how to format and transport the 1's and 0's and build the gear to do it, that is from the lens through to your set.
Where I have content it is superb. I understand the sets are selling so content should start to increase. At least I hope so.
I took this choice knowing it could be a duffer but I do not think so. That is a decision for the person spending the loot as it can be quite a lot.
The upscaling is something people should be aware of and check first. Try to find a shop that will accommodate the viewing, preferably a set that is HD only and one that is upscaling a HD feed (1080i minimum). There are two dedicated bluray players on the market at the moment and I hear that others are due soon. Watch out for streaming, that is your deal with your ISP. It uses a lot
On the upscaling, you will see a marked difference on the aerial signals say BBC 1 SD and BBC 1 HD. It will not polish up the SD feeds to anything useful.
HDR seems to be the next battle ground.
At the end, it is the MKI eyeball that will make the buy, so up to you. Go look at a few
On Netflix I have been watching Breaking Bad, Dare Devil, Marco Polo and a few others but not enough time. 1080p on a bluray is upscaled absolutely superbly.
Watch out for some sets that will not do HDR over streaming or not do it through the HDMI port. Might have changed now but on big brand on the 2015 sets (top of the shop as well), they would not show HDR through both methods, only HDMI or streaming, forget which. Might have changed with the 2016 sets.
On the whole Upscaling, HDR proof (if that is your thing), USB3 port (fast port at least if there are a few), many HDMI ports, hard wire to the router (wifi can be flakey).
Where I have content it is superb. I understand the sets are selling so content should start to increase. At least I hope so.
I took this choice knowing it could be a duffer but I do not think so. That is a decision for the person spending the loot as it can be quite a lot.
The upscaling is something people should be aware of and check first. Try to find a shop that will accommodate the viewing, preferably a set that is HD only and one that is upscaling a HD feed (1080i minimum). There are two dedicated bluray players on the market at the moment and I hear that others are due soon. Watch out for streaming, that is your deal with your ISP. It uses a lot
On the upscaling, you will see a marked difference on the aerial signals say BBC 1 SD and BBC 1 HD. It will not polish up the SD feeds to anything useful.
HDR seems to be the next battle ground.
At the end, it is the MKI eyeball that will make the buy, so up to you. Go look at a few
On Netflix I have been watching Breaking Bad, Dare Devil, Marco Polo and a few others but not enough time. 1080p on a bluray is upscaled absolutely superbly.
Watch out for some sets that will not do HDR over streaming or not do it through the HDMI port. Might have changed now but on big brand on the 2015 sets (top of the shop as well), they would not show HDR through both methods, only HDMI or streaming, forget which. Might have changed with the 2016 sets.
On the whole Upscaling, HDR proof (if that is your thing), USB3 port (fast port at least if there are a few), many HDMI ports, hard wire to the router (wifi can be flakey).
Edited by jmorgan on Friday 22 July 08:42
Munka01 said:
Amusing that for over a year on here every supposed 'TV expert' categorically advised everyone against buying a 4K tv as there would never be any mainstream 4k content available.
Glad I didn't listen and waste money on a non-4k TV.
To be fair, although SKY said 4k was coming, I don't think anyone expected them to launch with so much content off the bat.Glad I didn't listen and waste money on a non-4k TV.
Having said that, we've not seen the quality of it yet... we've put up with fairly poor 1080i from SKY for years... let's hope UHD quality is an improvement.
jmorgan said:
Watch out for some sets that will not do HDR over streaming or not do it through the HDMI port. Might have changed now but on big brand on the 2015 sets (top of the shop as well), they would not show HDR through both methods, only HDMI or streaming, forget which. Might have changed with the 2016 sets.
Generally sets were missing 'HDMI 2.0a' ports, so could not read the extra metadata that HDR10 uses, so you couldn't watch HDR stuff via (say) the new UHD BluRay 4k discs. Not all 2015 lacked the ports (the flat LG 4k OLED had them, the curved LG 4k OLED did not, for example) and you'd expect all 2016 sets to have it.wormus said:
Chris Stott said:
UHD comes August 13. Confirmed.
What about Freeview/Freesat ? BBC can't be that far behind? Edited by varsas on Friday 22 July 10:38
varsas said:
jmorgan said:
Watch out for some sets that will not do HDR over streaming or not do it through the HDMI port. Might have changed now but on big brand on the 2015 sets (top of the shop as well), they would not show HDR through both methods, only HDMI or streaming, forget which. Might have changed with the 2016 sets.
Generally sets were missing 'HDMI 2.0a' ports, so could not read the extra metadata that HDR10 uses, so you couldn't watch HDR stuff via (say) the new UHD BluRay 4k discs. Not all 2015 lacked the ports (the flat LG 4k OLED had them, the curved LG 4k OLED did not, for example) and you'd expect all 2016 sets to have it.Still a thing to be aware of, twas why I dropped the option for the curve.
Seems not all 4k TVs are created equal and the new standard we should be looking for is "Ultra HD Premium"
In time this also means we will need to upgrade our HTPCs. I'll need to switch from my on-board HDMI 1.4a graphics to a plug-in graphics card. GEForce do some 4K/HDMI 2.0a options but I'm not sure KODI needs to be upgraded. Also not sure if I need to replace all my cables which are embedded in the wall
"As mentioned above, HDMI 2.0a changes nothing about the size, shape, or wiring of HDMI cables. Should you wind up getting devices that are HDMI 2.0a compliant, your existing cables will work just fine. And since HDMI 2.0a is backward compatible with older HDMI versions, you’ll be able to connect your old Blu-ray player and/or AV receiver to a brand new HDMI 2.0a-equipped 4K Ultra HD TV with absolutely no problem."
So do we need new cables or not? Do we need HDMI 2.0a or is 1.4a good enough? The more I read, the more confusing it gets.
In time this also means we will need to upgrade our HTPCs. I'll need to switch from my on-board HDMI 1.4a graphics to a plug-in graphics card. GEForce do some 4K/HDMI 2.0a options but I'm not sure KODI needs to be upgraded. Also not sure if I need to replace all my cables which are embedded in the wall
"As mentioned above, HDMI 2.0a changes nothing about the size, shape, or wiring of HDMI cables. Should you wind up getting devices that are HDMI 2.0a compliant, your existing cables will work just fine. And since HDMI 2.0a is backward compatible with older HDMI versions, you’ll be able to connect your old Blu-ray player and/or AV receiver to a brand new HDMI 2.0a-equipped 4K Ultra HD TV with absolutely no problem."
So do we need new cables or not? Do we need HDMI 2.0a or is 1.4a good enough? The more I read, the more confusing it gets.
Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 22 July 15:25
My cables (high speed) are around 3 or 4 quid and work fine 4k. Only short ones required for me. If you already have them, then try them first.
Someone correct me but 2a is a standard and not the connector on the set or bluray etc. but I am guessing the board that the connector is soldered to rather than the plug contains the gubbins to deal with standard the port is? Anyone?
I think some 4k works on 1.4 (frames per second limitation?) but 2 is a beefier pipe. More bits especially for 4k and frame rates etc.
I suppose most middling to higher end will comes with 2a today?
Someone correct me but 2a is a standard and not the connector on the set or bluray etc. but I am guessing the board that the connector is soldered to rather than the plug contains the gubbins to deal with standard the port is? Anyone?
I think some 4k works on 1.4 (frames per second limitation?) but 2 is a beefier pipe. More bits especially for 4k and frame rates etc.
I suppose most middling to higher end will comes with 2a today?
This looks tempting: http://www.richersounds.com/product/tv---all/samsu...
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