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Is it the right time for a 4K UHD TV?

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SolChild

TRIBE Promoter
Im in the market for a new 60" TV and I've noticed that 4K TVs are getting a bit less expensive - but so are 1080p Smart Sets...but those 4K sets look ridiculous!!

Is 4K a good investment now considering content is still limited?
Would I be better off getting a really nice 1080p smart television and buying a 4K in 2 years or so when they get cheaper?
 
praktik

praktik

TRIBE Member
I'm not sure people realize the gear u need to push 4k at anything above low/med settings


SLI titans still need some help with my 1920*1200 res with all bells and whistles turned on.

There are some very expensive lighting and shadow effects out there.

I still think gaming in 4k ain't really ready for the mainstream.

You need to plan for tri/quad SLI to have any future proofing, my bet is will take another tick or so up the GPU ladder (future cards) before pushing 4k with a single or dual GPU setup becomes reasonable
 
praktik

praktik

TRIBE Member
The big thing I want in my next monitor is gsync - this is more exciting to me than 4k

Would reco anyone looking at 4k monitor for pc also gets one with gsync (Asus showed one at ces) when you are pushing less than optimal framerate (25-40 fps) This tech will help smooth it all out and make the hiccups less noticeable.

Given you will be almost guaranteed to be pushing less fps than 60 for with a 4k setup this frame rate pacing tech is almost a pre-req for any 4k monitor
 
glych t.anomaly

glych t.anomaly

TRIBE Member
Fuck that, i would get a new top of the line 1080p TV, and get a beastly effin video card or two for half the price of a 4k tv.

Zero 4k in my place for at least a few years.

PC i hooked up to my tv so i can game from the couch.
 
derek

derek

TRIBE Member
all for 4k tvs got a really mediocre review at CES.

i equate it to have a plasma in 2000 when they were still $20k but there was practically no content or affordable media devices that could push the higher resolution (
 
S

SolChild

TRIBE Promoter
Yeah I was looking at the Vizio P series and they got a bit of a bad review...
The E series looks like good bang for the buck, no frills, and the M series is just a bit better for the money.
 
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kyfe

TRIBE Member
buy the 1080p as others have suggested, save some more coinage but not bothering with a smart tv. I have one and I never use it, I use my ATV instead. the UI on smart tv's is still gross and limiting
 
glych t.anomaly

glych t.anomaly

TRIBE Member
Yeah Smart TV's are a fucking joke, hook up your media box or a PC and your functionality is improved by about 98374598347594 %

dont waste the money on functionality you wont use and get better spec TV
 
D

dig this

TRIBE Member
I bought an LG 40" 4k 120hz tv from Costco for $599 around Black Friday. Given that it's marginally more expensive than a regular HDTV, I figured that decent 4k will be better than a good HDTV. So far no complaints except that it's a bit too small. I have until late Feb to return it so I'm thinking I may upgrade. Given that some of the 4ks, especially LG are priced competitively with regular HD, would going 4k not make more sense? Thoughts?
 
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kyfe

TRIBE Member
it makes no snese if there's nothing to watch (which is the case right now)
as for the picture I'd suspect the improvement is marginal but I really have no formal opinion as I haven't viewed them side by side.

The reality is your eye can only process so much, after a certain point it all becomes moot
 
D

dig this

TRIBE Member
The content may come, but I've already heard of 6k and 8k TVs being on the market, so who knows. As for quality, there's a definite difference when viewed side by side. Quite stunning actually. It's almost like comparing a standard def to 1080p.
 
glych t.anomaly

glych t.anomaly

TRIBE Member
Ok, so this is where i think that the media being viewed still plays the dominant role in the quality.

if im watching a 1080p Blue Ray Rip on my 1080p TV, its going to be optimized for the least amount of fuzz, or dithering etc, its supposed to be Crisp as shit.

that same video on a 4k TV is going to be like watching a standard 480p or less on your 1080p.

to get it full screen, you are literally blowing it up to stretch it out to go full screen on your 4k, which means it should not look the same or better, but worse. pixelated etc.

So unless you are looking at photos from your camera on a 4k tv with a resolution equal or above, or playing video games optimized for 4k, from what i have read and heard on forums etc, the content just isnt there.

I dont mind 720p on my 1080p, as its less of a percentage in resolution upscaling, than 1080p - 4k, but you can still see a difference even on my paltry 46' 1080p LCD between the two.

Im not buying something new till i get a condo, and get something nice, the size i want for the spot its going etc. till then i will rock this 4-5 Yr old LCD that has zero pixels missing and still works great for my Movie and Gaming needs.
 
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lobo

TRIBE Member
I don't know. From what I've heard, the upconversion from 1080p sources to 4k resolutions is supposed to be pretty good in that you either can't tell the difference or that it enhances the quality that much more. I guess it's something to do with the chipsets and such similar to the way the Oppo Bluray players upconvert DVDs to make them look better than other bluray players. But you're right, it's hard to make something out of nothing and the intelligence in those chipsets has to be good for it to add additional resolution.

Lobo
 
praktik

praktik

TRIBE Member
lobo said:
I don't know. From what I've heard, the upconversion from 1080p sources to 4k resolutions is supposed to be pretty good in that you either can't tell the difference or that it enhances the quality that much more. I guess it's something to do with the chipsets and such similar to the way the Oppo Bluray players upconvert DVDs to make them look better than other bluray players. But you're right, it's hard to make something out of nothing and the intelligence in those chipsets has to be good for it to add additional resolution.

Lobo
Click to expand...
I've got my GPU doing a lot of fancy upscaling on Chroma and image - should be better than what you get out of those Darbee boxes and on par with what Oppo does.

I can tell a small difference, but at the end of the day its kind of like that feeling you want when you have a great set - good to know you are feeding best quality inputs. That said, im sure if someone blind tested me I'd be correct about 50% of the time (watching native vs upscaled)
 
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