Any point in purchasing UHD TV now?

Digifriendly

Was in Curry's (Lisburn) today and they are really promoting Ultra HD TVs. Is there any point in buying one of these considering that the only broadcasts at the moment are with BT Sport and only if you have BT TV? AFAIK Sky are going to launch an Ultra HD box next year but no date set yet and there will be a subscription price no doubt. So what value is there in purchasing such a TV at present?

Crimsonforce

Digifriendly wrote: »

Was in Curry's (Lisburn) today and they are really promoting Ultra HD TVs. Is there any point in buying one of these considering that the only broadcasts at the moment are with BT Sport and only if you have BT TV? AFAIK Sky are going to launch an Ultra HD box next year but no date set yet and there will be a subscription price no doubt. So what value is there in purchasing such a TV at present?

The short answer is no. Stick with a good brand tv such as a Panasonic (make sure a real pana and not rebadged) or an oled tv. Whilst uhd is nice, you need to sit closer to the tv to see the difference. Its also not great for sports due to the refresh rate at 4k on these tv's means a football game will not be great. A fantastic HD set will far out weigh a uhd set.

These companies such as currys etc have to show the latest technology in order to keep sales going... remember 3d? Where did that go...

Sam Russell

Crimsonforce wrote: »

These companies such as currys etc have to show the latest technology in order to keep sales going... remember 3d? Where did that go...

Same place it went the last time it launched. And the time before that, and the time before that.

Might work in a cinema with a film made specially for it - but who wants to wear funny glasses watching the news or the Late Late at home?

Digifriendly

Crimsonforce wrote: »

The short answer is no. Stick with a good brand tv such as a Panasonic (make sure a real pana and not rebadged) or an oled tv. Whilst uhd is nice, you need to sit closer to the tv to see the difference. Its also not great for sports due to the refresh rate at 4k on these tv's means a football game will not be great. A fantastic HD set will far out weigh a uhd set.

These companies such as currys etc have to show the latest technology in order to keep sales going... remember 3d? Where did that go...

Thanks a million for this very important advice as I was unaware of issues you mention. Latest Television Viewers guide indicates that UHD will probably not come to DTT due to large bandwidth requirements. I agree re 3D - think the glasses were a big issue with viewers.

Crimsonforce

Digifriendly wrote: »

Thanks a million for this very important advice as I was unaware of issues you mention. Latest Television Viewers guide indicates that UHD will probably not come to DTT due to large bandwidth requirements. I agree re 3D - think the glasses were a big issue with viewers.

The landscape is changing rapidly, stick with HD and if you can go for it, an oled panel. No UHD for a long time... I have a Panasonic panel since 2010 and its perfect..

Digifriendly

Crimsonforce wrote: »

The landscape is changing rapidly, stick with HD and if you can go for it, an oled panel. No UHD for a long time... I have a Panasonic panel since 2010 and its perfect..

Very good advice and this is saying the same thing in a slightly different way - http://www.theverge.com/2015/9/2/9243941/first-click-don-t-buy-that-new-4k-tv

The Cush

Digifriendly wrote: »

Latest Television Viewers guide indicates that UHD will probably not come to DTT due to large bandwidth requirements.

The Germans are moving to terrestrial HEVC in the coming years and they estimate a UHD channel would consume 15-25Mbps i.e. up to an entire DVB-T2/HEVC mux.

A new codec will be required (a future H.266 standard) to accommodate UHD channels on DTT. Speculation is 5-7 years + and this at a time where there will be further demand for more spectrum to be allocated to mobile services, so reducing capacity vs. viewer demand for higher quality video equals more efficient use of remaining capacity.

warpdrive

A 1080p OLED would look better than a 4K LCD/LED. It's an awkward time to be buying a TV right now because you want the best TV you can afford but the 4K TVs currently available aren't really that yet they're pretty much all that's available. If you can hold off for another year or two it'd be much better but if you really need a new TV in the meantime then just get some cheap thing that'd pass the time.


Really, truly hope OLED doesn't go the way of plasmas. Some people lucky enough to have gotten top of the range plasmas right towards the end of their production have TVs that probably still look better than current top of the range LCDs. Such a pity that more consumers didn't do their research on which TVs were the best and instead just opted for the cheaper options (LCD) resulting in plasma being phased out

Digifriendly

Thanks for all the replies. They have been most helpful. At present I have two 3 year old Sony Freeview HDs (one a 32 in and the other a 22 in bought around the DSO) and they're both working fine (I get Freeview/Saorview) but my question arose as UHD seems to being promoted heavily especially at this time of the year. I'll stick with what I have. Thanks again for all the information.

Gerry Wicklow

I've noticed in several Aldi branches around the country they have a number of the suspiciously cheap 4K sets they were selling ~€500 returned to stock. Presumably people bought them and were disappointed and returned. I'd be curious to see some feedback from anyone who bought one.

winston_1

warpdrive wrote: »

Really, truly hope OLED doesn't go the way of plasmas. Some people lucky enough to have gotten top of the range plasmas right towards the end of their production have TVs that probably still look better than current top of the range LCDs. Such a pity that more consumers didn't do their research on which TVs were the best and instead just opted for the cheaper options (LCD) resulting in plasma being phased out

Plasmas were big, heavy, fragile, consumed excessive power, expensive, and had horrendous EMC problems. Those are the real reasons for their demise.

lgs 4

If you buy 4k or 8k UHD TV it's a boy's toys and keeping up with Jones .If BBC aren,t interested in 4k broadcasting that says it all .

TAFKAlawhec

lgs 4 wrote: »

If you buy 4k or 8k UHD TV it's a boy's toys and keeping up with Jones .If BBC aren,t interested in 4k broadcasting that says it all .

The BBC are already having to trim their current services with budget cuts and some of their regional news rooms still aren't upgraded to HD yet, so rushing out to do 4K isn't a pressing priority, nor is there a large amount of content out there that is 4K or 8K native to justify such a channel at present. They have been engaging in some private 4K tests however, the most notable being the FIFA World Cup last year being broadcast on a test DVB-T2 mux in NW England last year.

We're probably a few years off from UHD being delivered through traditional broadcast platforms, at the moment it's the preserve of IPTV delivery with the likes of Netflix & BT Sport - when offered.

AlonzoHarris

I bought this one few weeks ago for 899 and am delighted with it.
It up scales HD content and the picture quality is incredible. Watched Fargo S2 recorded from c4 HD and the picture is so real it looks fake if thst makes any sense.
It comes with 5 year manufacturer's warranty too.
http://www.harveynorman.ie/tvs-headphones/hd-tvs/sony-43-led-tv-kd43x8305cbu.html

Back in 2004 I bought a "HD Compatable" lcd Sharp TV which meant it had a hdmi connection but did not have HD resolution.
At the time HD ready and full hd tvs were very expensive so I went for the slightly cheaper tv which I ended up regretting on the long run.
it still cost me 1100 if I recall correctly.

I wasn't going to make the same mistake this time so spent the extra money on what I feel is a very good purchase.

winston_1

TAFKAlawhec wrote: »

The BBC are already having to trim their current services with budget cuts and some of their regional news rooms still aren't upgraded to HD yet, so rushing out to do 4K isn't a pressing priority, nor is there a large amount of content out there that is 4K or 8K native to justify such a channel at present. They have been engaging in some private 4K tests however, the most notable being the FIFA World Cup last year being broadcast on a test DVB-T2 mux in NW England last year.

We're probably a few years off from UHD being delivered through traditional broadcast platforms, at the moment it's the preserve of IPTV delivery with the likes of Netflix & BT Sport - when offered.

AlonzoHarris wrote: »

I bought this one few weeks ago for 899 and am delighted with it.
It up scales HD content and the picture quality is incredible. Watched Fargo S2 recorded from c4 HD and the picture is so real it looks fake if thst makes any sense.
It comes with 5 year manufacturer's warranty too.
http://www.harveynorman.ie/tvs-headphones/hd-tvs/sony-43-led-tv-kd43x8305cbu.html

Back in 2004 I bought a "HD Compatable" lcd Sharp TV which meant it had a hdmi connection but did not have HD resolution.
At the time HD ready and full hd tvs were very expensive so I went for the slightly cheaper tv which I ended up regretting on the long run.
it still cost me 1100 if I recall correctly.

I wasn't going to make the same mistake this time so spent the extra money on what I feel is a very good purchase.

Up scaling won't makeHD UHD. You cannot generate what is not there.

I'm afraid you have made the same mistake. Read this:

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/sky-4k-tv-early-adopters-wont-be-able-watch-sports-broadcast-uhd-1504433

AlonzoHarris

winston_1 wrote: »

Up scaling won't makeHD UHD. You cannot generate what is not there.

I'm afraid you have made the same mistake. Read this:

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/sky-4k-tv-early-adopters-wont-be-able-watch-sports-broadcast-uhd-1504433

I never said up scaling turns HD into UHD?

What I was trying to say is the HD content displayed on this TV is incredible compared to on a Full HD TV.
The upscaling is done by the X1 processor which also upscales other content such as standard DVDS, Bku Rays etc.

I read your link but can only see 2013 4k tvs mentioned.

warpdrive

AlonzoHarris wrote: »

I bought this one few weeks ago for 899 and am delighted with it.
It up scales HD content and the picture quality is incredible. Watched Fargo S2 recorded from c4 HD and the picture is so real it looks fake if thst makes any sense.
It comes with 5 year manufacturer's warranty too.
http://www.harveynorman.ie/tvs-headphones/hd-tvs/sony-43-led-tv-kd43x8305cbu.html

Back in 2004 I bought a "HD Compatable" lcd Sharp TV which meant it had a hdmi connection but did not have HD resolution.
At the time HD ready and full hd tvs were very expensive so I went for the slightly cheaper tv which I ended up regretting on the long run.
it still cost me 1100 if I recall correctly.

I wasn't going to make the same mistake this time so spent the extra money on what I feel is a very good purchase.

Just in case, do you have some 'smooth motion' setting enabled? That might be the cause of the 'fake' appearance because I've had a few people have the same turned on on their TVs and it made everything look like some soap show and when turned off it looked better and more natural

FRIENDO

AlonzoHarris wrote:

I bought this one few weeks ago for 899 and am delighted with it. It up scales HD content and the picture quality is incredible. Watched Fargo S2 recorded from c4 HD and the picture is so real it looks fake if thst makes any sense. It comes with 5 year manufacturer's warranty too.

That's a lovely tv, I would like to see what Netflix UHD programmes look like.

AlonzoHarris

warpdrive wrote: »

Just in case, do you have some 'smooth motion' setting enabled? That might be the cause of the 'fake' appearance because I've had a few people have the same turned on on their TVs and it made everything look like some soap show and when turned off it looked better and more natural

I checked that and motion setting is set to Standard.
I do know what you mean though as my phone has a fast motion (60 fps) setting and its so smooth the videos can look fake.

FRIENDO wrote: »

That's a lovely tv, I would like to see what Netflix UHD programmes look like.

I don't have netflix but UHD vids from the youtube app and from my phone look fantastic.

Here is some marketing spin about the upscaling.
X1 Processor
Sony’s powerful 4K processor X1 brings stunning picture quality to whatever you’re watching. Every source is intelligently analysed and upscaled to our best 4K resolution, from TV broadcasts, Blu-ray discs, DVDs, or even 4K internet videos. You’ll enjoy incredible 4K images with stunning clarity, more lifelike colours and sparkling contrast.

FRIENDO

AlonzoHarris wrote:

I don't have netflix but UHD vids from the youtube app and from my phone look fantastic.

You can get Netflix free for a month.
You need very good Internet atleast 25 megabytes speed for streaming UHD.
Just an idea.

winston_1

AlonzoHarris wrote: »

Here is some marketing spin about the upscaling.
X1 Processor
Sony’s powerful 4K processor X1 brings stunning picture quality to whatever you’re watching. Every source is intelligently analysed and upscaled to our best 4K resolution, from TV broadcasts, Blu-ray discs, DVDs, or even 4K internet videos. You’ll enjoy incredible 4K images with stunning clarity, more lifelike colours and sparkling contrast.

Basically marketing lies. It is not 4K apart from the 4K internet videos. As I said you cannot generate what is not there to begin with.

AlonzoHarris

winston_1 wrote: »

Basically marketing lies. It is not 4K apart from the 4K internet videos. As I said you cannot generate what is not there to begin with.

Yup, it's not 4k, but it's better quality than a full hd, as I said.

Edit: These reviews about Sonys up-scaling are taken from non-Sony sites so Id take a look at the TV first before forming an opinion about the 4K up scaling:

http://reviews.lcdtvbuyingguide.com/sony-lcd-tv/sony-xbr-43x830c.html
Up-Scaling to 4K
Up-scaling and conversion is the most important aspect of any 4K UHD TV for 2015/2016 due to the dearth of 4K content, and Sony excels most at it. As mentioned above, the picture is noticeably cleaner and clearer with up-scaled and converted HD programming than with last years X830B series. The new picture is astoundingly good at up-converting and smoothing the HD signal to the native resolution of the panel.
If this were not the case, why buy a 4K TV in the first place except to future proof?
Anyway, much of the upgrade this year is due to the new 4K Processor X1 engine incorporated into the X830C series.
The benefits of 4K resolution will have to be seen by upscaling, and Sony is the best at it.


http://www.avsforum.com/forum/166-lcd-flat-panel-displays/1868977-does-sony-really-have-best-4k-upscaler.html

http://www.whathifi.com/news/sony-2015-tvs-everything-you-need-to-know

AlonzoHarris

FRIENDO wrote: »

You can get Netflix free for a month.
You need very good Internet atleast 25 megabytes speed for streaming UHD.
Just an idea.

Thx. I have a pretty good fibre connection so will give this a go.

Crimsonforce

winston_1 wrote: »

Basically marketing lies. It is not 4K apart from the 4K internet videos. As I said you cannot generate what is not there to begin with.

Right and right again. People can read what they want, pixels are only one part of the process. Whilst the engine is one part, so is the refresh rate, frame rate, HDR. That said sony do a better job than more on upscaling...but take it all with a pinch of salt...

samarillo

Has anyone seen the Fashion tv 4k trial.i can certainly see a difference on my hd tv

icdg

Digifriendly wrote: »

Was in Curry's (Lisburn) today and they are really promoting Ultra HD TVs. Is there any point in buying one of these considering that the only broadcasts at the moment are with BT Sport and only if you have BT TV? AFAIK Sky are going to launch an Ultra HD box next year but no date set yet and there will be a subscription price no doubt. So what value is there in purchasing such a TV at present?

I know the OP is NI based, but for those of us in the Republic there's no one broadcasting UHD content yet except Netflix at the most expensive plan. Sky do plan a UHD Sky Sports channel for August of next year but that's some time away and will require Sky Q. I wouldn't be in a rush to buy such a set yet.

flutered

warpdrive wrote: »

A 1080p OLED would look better than a 4K LCD/LED. It's an awkward time to be buying a TV right now because you want the best TV you can afford but the 4K TVs currently available aren't really that yet they're pretty much all that's available. If you can hold off for another year or two it'd be much better but if you really need a new TV in the meantime then just get some cheap thing that'd pass the time.


Really, truly hope OLED doesn't go the way of plasmas. Some people lucky enough to have gotten top of the range plasmas right towards the end of their production have TVs that probably still look better than current top of the range LCDs. Such a pity that more consumers didn't do their research on which TVs were the best and instead just opted for the cheaper options (LCD) resulting in plasma being phased out

i was lucky in that regard, the set is four years old, yet visitors are quite taken by it, especially combined with a hd sat box