Thinking about getting a UHD / 4k television (actually I read it’s wrong to term them identical, as 4k is technically cinema screen resolution and UHD is a fraction off this at 2160p).
My question (for Uk people at least) is: is it worth investing now or holding fire? Do those with a 4k screen regret jumping onboard too soon?
It seems at first glance that there isn’t that much UHD content out there (i’m not counting promotional albeit lovely videos on YouTube of rainforests in pristine detail). Not sure about forking out on an UHD Blu-ray player just so you can then fork out some more on UHD Blu-rays either.
Also, some basic questions from the uninitiated perspective:-
how good are these TVs at upscaling from 1080i/p to 2160? if most decent content remains in 1080 ‘True’ HD at best and often at the lower end of this scale (720p)
does 4k do anything for SD channels at all?
is it true that it’s basically not worth getting a 4k Tv unless you either A) plan on sitting a few feet away from it or B) buy an enormous one (60" and up) to take advantage of such a resolution difference?
The obvious positive regardless of when you buy is future proofing to an extent with HDCP 2.2 standard I guess, it’s just a case of when the scales tip and enough people are forming the market demand for UHD content?
I’ve got a Sony 4K that upscales amazingly. I just bought a PS4 pro and the difference from the 1080p regular PS4 and the new one on the Sony tv is there but to the untrained eye not too obvious.
This basically tells me the upscaling technology of my tv is remarkable. Unless you can afford LG OLED technology I insist you get a Sony. Panasonic are shit and Samsung the picture doesn’t seem as sharp and refined.
Look on Currys, the 49" £599.99 model is the one if I’m not mistaken. Bluray on this is beautiful, but I have watched a 4K film I downloaded onto my PS4 pro and yeah it’s even better.
There’s only one 4K tv channel at the moment, bt sport uhd, which will cost you around £60 a month for all the appropriate packages.
If you have a bluray player or a PS4 then yeah go for it.
I bought a 4k 49inch Samsung tv in april but only because I needed a new tv otherwise I wouldn’t have bothered for a couple off years.But if you don’t need a tv then hold out till dolby vision is released in tvs then you should be future proof.
But the quality difference is amazing not just on uhd Blu-ray discs but hd content has well. SD content is watchable but the whole point of upscaling is so the picture fits the screen.
content wise I bought myself a xbox1s it was cheaper then a uhd player. Netflix content is pretty good for 4k/hdr but prime is rubbish for its 4k content and iplayer is suppose to be getting updated for uhd content soon(carnt wait to see planet earth 2 in 4k).
uhd bluray is a improvement over Blu-ray but still waiting for a true 4k film since films getting released are taken from a 2k source and upscaled.
I think we’re still 3 or 4 years away from 4K being worth having. It’s a bit like HD came out 10 years ago. There wasn’t enough stuff at the time to justify having it, but by around 2010/2011 there were plenty of channels and content that made the switch worth having.
It’s like the new Sky Q box for example. All sounds very cool but the price and stuff doesn’t really make it worth it yet.
Anyways, if there’s a good deal on a 4K, then go for it!
So far I’ve seen Panasonic slagged off vs other brands (the brand we were looking at), Amazon Prime/Video slagged off vs Netflix (we had favoured the former) and the PS4 given the nod over the XBox One in terms of likely 4k compatibilty (the boyf has the latter).
Now Tv > both Netflix and Amazon Prime if you can handle the fact that there’s no HD or UHD content.
Now Tv is miles cheaper than both, on the movie side of things Sky get theirs well ahead of Netflix or Amazon, plus on the entertainment side it’s really just subjective as to which service has which particular show you’re into.
Amazon Prime is £79 a year and Netflix currently at £99 for UHD access (including a free month). If you’re a student you can knock that Amazon price down a fair bit though.
Ive had an LG smart 4k tv for about a year and have to say the picture is much better more detailed than “normal” tv’s. And Bluray dvds are even more impressive. Also have amazon prime which pays for its self if you shop amazon. Prime does have some UHD content. My dad bought a Sony 4k the other week and that also has android tv built in, so its possible to load Kodi onto the tv.My job when i go see him next.Although i did get him a firestick for xmas which i added kodi to. So yes its worth getting unless you want to wait for the 8k tv, etc…
I’m an Amazon Prime member and definitely think it’s worth having (for the reduced price I got it at anyway) but the UHD content included in your sub price doesn’t seem great to me unless I’m missing anything.
A few of their Amazon-only Tv shows and a smattering of movies seemingly picked at random, none of them stuff that’s going to show off an UHD Tv either. That said, it’s still worth having the Tv if it’s reasonably future-proofed (mine kinda isn’t).
If Sky started making some of its movies (at least) UHD on its budget-end Now Tv platform (as opposed to the Sky Q end of the spectrum), that would kill Netflix and Amazon stone dead imo. Obviously UHD channels will have to start coming online to change things.
I had a 50" plasma but it broke about a year ago. John Lewis couldn’t replace it with a like for like as Plasma’s are now discontinued, so opted to future proof with a Samsung 48" UHD telly.
Have to say I’ve loved it from day one. HD viewing has never been better, shits all over any other TV I’ve had before. Recently got a PS4 Pro which just looks majestic as fuck on it too. I’d recommend to upgrade as soon as you can afford to.
West Yorkshire, go for it. PS4 pro on my 50" Sony is incredible, especially games like uncharted 4…
I kind of wish I’d have saved more money than the £600 I spent on this tv even though the picture quality is probably best on the market in the 500-800 price range. I’d love an OLED LG tv, now that is amazing quality picture.
I’ll leave it to those of you who understand all this stuff, but I’d like to see some discussion on this software-based thingy. If someone could explain it simple terms it would be great. Here’s the link: https://sonarr.tv/
Size wise that’s way too big for me but quality wise I don’t think my Sony will be that inferior. I think price wise only OLED would be worth paying more money for than what I’ve already got.
