4k Televisions is there a point?

[abillybob]

Hey Guys,

 

Just looking for a bit of advice. At the moment I have a Sony Bravia KDL40L4000, it's getting on a bit now though and is almost 8 years old, all it's used for is my computer monitor really and then any TV, Films etc.... all go through my computer. It's a good enough TV but I have found now that it makes a high pitched squeal when on an all white page such as google.co.uk, it's also rather thick for a flat screen TV and the bezels are fairly large compared to todays standards.

 

I have been shopping around for a new TV when I found you can buy 4k Televisions now at 900hz by LG for under £600 at around 40". My questions is will you even really see the difference in resolution surely our eyes can only "see so much" and 4k on a 40 inch screen I would have thought you wouldn't be able to tell the difference really from 1080p. Though I do sit fairly close because I use it as my monitor.

 

What do you reckon is 4k really worth the extra money or should I just stick with 1080p?

 

Thankyou

[sted]

personally id say atm no as there isnt enough content to make it worth the effort and apparantly so ive seen 8k isnt far off anyway. To me its like 3d tv if the tv that does what you want has it fine but there a limit how much extra id pay to get it

[ICTDirect_Dave]

You'll see a difference on the bigger screens providing you're watching 4K content.

 

There's not a lot of that about however.

 

1080p is fine for now, but you can tell the difference between 1080 on a good 24" monitor and the same res on a 40" TV.

[tmcd35]

I've re-laid out my living room and repositioned my TV, wall mounted. Since doing it I've noticed it feels a little small, it's 42". I looked on Curry's website for 50" TV's and was shocked at how cheap 4k TV are getting. Theirs started from about £750 for a decent brand like Samsung. So I've decided to wait a year or two for the prices to get sub-£500 and then I'll defo trade up.

 

I think it's a content question. Right now, there's little point. Bandwidth means 8k streaming is unlikely in the foreseeable future, so I can't see 8k TV's taking off that quickly. 4k is now getting to a price point that means it won't be long before enough people have them to make content delivery worth while. We're already seeing it with Netflix offering 4k content. I think YouTube might as well. I'll be extremely surprised if the next generation of consoles weren't 4k native.

 

I suppose the question is...Does you're graphics card support 4k, and if not, when do you plan to upgrade to one that does?

 

As for seeing the difference, how big is the telly, and how far away from it are you?

[Joanne]

I am wondering the same thing... I dusted off my TV warranty card the other day and was disgusted to see I've had it for 2 and a half years!! Hahahah... I love my TV really. I'm going to wait for the curved 4k to get cheaper methinks... or I'll just start checking the Richer Sounds website! All my TVs from there have been ex-display so you get a good deal. Still get a 5 year warranty too... which if I bat my eyelashes I can get for a discount!! Love the Preston shop...

[LosOjos]

I recently bought a 4K TV - I love it, and I have to say even 1080p content looks better to my eyes, though how much of that is down to the TV upscaling and just the fact that it's LED (as opposed to LCD) is hard to say.

 

The way I see it is this: I generally only aim to buy a TV every 10 years. My old TV had died, so it was time for a new one. I went for 4K so that I am relatively future proofed. As has been said, there's a sever lack of 4K content right now - Netflix do some, but you need a compatible TV and minimum 15MB broadband connection.

 

I have a home built Steambox so I have played a couple of games in 4K and they do look better, but a lot of them don't have 4K textures so you're still not getting the full benefit.

 

Also, I really think 4K is pointless on anything less than a 40" screen - to my eyes at least, I can't tell 1080p/4K apart on smaller screens.

 

Picture quality is about more than just resolution though, you want to be looking out for refresh rates, colour reproduction, noise. Personally, I was unimpressed by the cheaper LG and Samsungs - I got the impression they'd really skimped on the panels to cram as many features in for the price as possible - though Samsungs upper-range were great. I went for a Panasonic in the end because we got a good price on it and I loved the picture, but I thought Sony were great too (this is in the <£700 range)

 

In a nutshell, buy 4K if you don't plan to buy another TV in the next 5 years (by which point I reckon it'll be in to the mainstream), buy 1080p if you do.

[abillybob]

Thanks guys @tmcd35 well I'm currently using a 40" and I sit pretty close to it as I use it as my computer monitor. I plan to move to a 55" Samsung 4K TV and my GPU is a GTX 770 2GB GDDR5 so I think it supports 4k resolution, this is something I probably should check

[tmcd35]

Apparently, if you are closer than 7ft, you'll see the difference...4K Calculator - Do You Benefit? - Reference Home Theater

[abillybob]

Ahh Cheers!!! Right I know what I'm getting for xmas then! Still don't know what to do with my old TV though, it's still working do you think I could get some money back for it?

[Dos_Box]

No matter what I buy, the price will drop by 40-50% three weeks after purchase.

So I'll wait.

[LosOjos]

No matter what I buy, the price will drop by 40-50% three weeks after purchase.

So I'll wait.

 

That's the problem with tech - like cars, you just have to accept it'll lose 50% of it's worth in six months, otherwise you'd never buy anything!

[sted]

No matter what I buy, the price will drop by 40-50% three weeks after purchase.

So I'll wait.

 

esp near christmas. If your not too picky (by which i mean dont "need" a specific model) there will probably be loads of unsold tvs early january retails need to shift going cheaper than in the runup to christmas

[sonofsanta]

Thanks guys @tmcd35 well I'm currently using a 40" and I sit pretty close to it as I use it as my computer monitor. I plan to move to a 55" Samsung 4K TV and my GPU is a GTX 770 2GB GDDR5 so I think it supports 4k resolution, this is something I probably should check

 

The 770 will support 4k but it won't run games at particularly high settings/frame rates at that resolution. You'll either need to dial down the settings a chunk (won't need AA at least!) or run at 1920 x 1080, which will scale up nicely.

 

I had no idea 4K TVs were getting so cheap already. My kneejerk reaction was "no point, too expensive, early adopter tax!" but looks like we're already past that point. So may as well

 

(curved TVs can DIAF though, only of use to single men in their bachelor pads I reckon)

[localzuk]

If you're using it with a computer, you'll see a difference - if your graphics card can drive it and if your games will output at that scale.

 

For video and TV though, at the moment kinda pointless.

[Joanne]

(curved TVs can DIAF though, only of use to single men in their bachelor pads I reckon)

 

Not a fan of curves then? HOW RUDE!

[localzuk]

Not a fan of curves then? HOW RUDE!

 

How rude! You don't like us flat people then!?

[sted]

(curved TVs can DIAF though, only of use to single men in their bachelor pads I reckon)

 

i thought the point of bent screens was so more people could see them properly not less?

[JJonas]

They covered this in the Gadget Show last year and the main issues they highlighted were(as I recall):

 

1. very few 4K programmes being made.

2. bandwidth to provide these programmes is just not there.

[sonofsanta]

i thought the point of bent screens was so more people could see them properly not less?

 

Not heard that - way I figure it, the person sat right in the middle gets a lovely image, anyone even slightly off-centre is getting a distorted image as part of the curve becomes flattened from their perspective.

 

Of course the real reason curved TVs exist is because they invented curved displays and needed to justify the R&D, plus the addiction to trying to create new product categories just in case they take off massively. See also: smartwatches.

[Tesla]

My Mrs. refuses to see a difference between SD and HD TV, so i don't think i'm ever gonna be able to justify buying a 4k TV. LOL.

[HarryMonkey]

Ahh Cheers!!! Right I know what I'm getting for xmas then! Still don't know what to do with my old TV though, it's still working do you think I could get some money back for it?

 

Stick it up on one of your local Facebook selling pages, someone will have it at the right price.

[tmcd35]

My Mrs. refuses to see a difference between SD and HD TV, so i don't think i'm ever gonna be able to justify buying a 4k TV. LOL.

 

Why not? Surely the difference between SD and 4k is easier to see...

[JRowley]

Personally given the price difference between 1080p and 4K is around £50 - £100, I would say yes absolutely buy 4K. There is basically no argument against buying 4K, while we don't know how heavily the market will embrace 4K the price difference means that you might as well make an attempt at future proofing.

[pcstru]

There is basically no argument against buying 4K,

Well, if you are using it as a computer monitor, you may suffer a drop in framerate on games as they have to deliver more pixels. That may or may not be important to you.

[Pottsey]

They covered this in the Gadget Show last year and the main issues they highlighted were(as I recall):

 

1. very few 4K programmes being made.

2. bandwidth to provide these programmes is just not there.

There is a decent amount of nice 4k content on Netflix and Youtube. On larger screens 4k is massively better. What I really look forward to are decently priced 4k projectors as once you get to 100"+ 4k is very noticeable.

Edited December 10, 2014 by Pottsey