Ultra HD tv 4K

[jjb1333]

Hi
I have a 1080p Hd TV which i have had for 10 years
I have been reading about these new Ultra HD4K Tv,s
I dont have a need for two many gadgets ,I just watch normal freeview tv

Would i benefit by upgrading my Tv
Is the picture quality that much better than I am already getting, I,m afraid i,m a bit of a dinosaur when it comes to technology, I just need a bit of advice
Thanks in advance..

 

[Sam Gangee]

You don't really need to ask here when there's already so much information out there.
http://www.cnet.com/uk/news/why-ultra-hd-4k-tvs-are-still-stupid/
http://www.howtogeek.com/206662/should-you-get-an-ultra-hd-4k-tv/
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/ultra-hd-4...-buy-one-what-there-watch-it-worth-it-1508840
https://www.productsandservices.bt.com/products/ultra-hd
etc.

 

[Lucid]

Save your money. Unless you plan to buy one of the very largest sets commercially available (105" @ £85,000) or sit incredibly close to 50"~60" TV - and by "incredibly close" I mean fewer than 18" away - then you won't notice the difference in the extra pixel density let alone any supposed benefit that it has on the incoming signal.

In truth a good 1080p TV will give you exactly the same looking picture from Freeview, Sky, Virgin, DVD, Blu-ray, streaming and pretty much any other source you can throw at it as a 4K TV; and in some instances the 1080p TV will be better! Those times are when you compare the cheaper-end of the 4K TV market against what the same money buys in a similar sized 1080p TV. The cheapest of the next generation product versus a mid-range product from some established bit of technology is an interesting A/B comparison. It becomes quite obvious what corners the manufacturers are cutting to hit a price point with the next-gen set.

If you really want a great looking result then the best you can do is buy a good mid-range 1080p TV and then have it professionally calibrated. This will make a far larger and much more noticeable improvement in picture quality for every source and for every day viewing.

 

[jjb1333]

Many Thanks......

 

[DaveHerns]

Lucid, what makes do you recommend?

 

[Lucid]

@DaveHerns - The three front runners tend to be Panasonic, Sony and Samsung. Have a look at the HDTVTest web site and see what they have reviewed both before and after calibration.

 

[DaveHerns]

I'll stick with my 42" Panasonic HD plasma for now. Might use more power than I'd like but it's good enough for me

 

[winston1]

Current broadcasts are 1080i. That is all you need.
The 4K broadcast specs are not even fully decided yet so any TV you buy now may not work when they are.

Regarding sets Panasonic have let themselves down recently with sets that won't work properly on ITV HD (Freesat). Panasonic customer service don't want to know and are trying to blame it on ITV instead of their poor design. Previously they made sets that though were MPEG 4 capable they would not work in Ireland on Saorview. Once again customer service did not want to know. Going back even further they made set top boxes that did conform to the DTT spec and the split nit.

Some Sony sets also seem to have the ITV HD problem, probably use the same defective chips.

Samsung have in the past made sets with crappy capacitors.

LG, another top make did make sets that were not compatible with i-player but customer service did the "good thing" and gave out Freesat boxes free of charge.

I know which make I would choose.

 

[Sam Gangee]

Samsung have in the past made sets with crappy capacitors.

They certainly have:
http://www.satcure.co.uk/reviews/satcure_blog_189.htm#samsung
http://www.satcure.co.uk/reviews/satcure_blog_171.htm#samsung

 

[DaveHerns]

What's the difference between 1080i and 1080p ?

 

[Lucid]

Current broadcasts are 1080i. That is all you need.

That would be true is all we ever watched was broadcast TV in 2D HD. But that's not the case, is it. So it isn't true to say that 1080i is all we need. TVs are fed all sorts of signals from interlaced 576i all the way through 1080p24, 1080p 3D and 1080p50 or 60 from consoles. Now there's 4K streamed content too.

Regarding sets Panasonic have let themselves down recently with sets that won't work properly on ITV HD (Freesat). Panasonic customer service don't want to know and are trying to blame it on ITV instead of their poor design.

The sets don't have a problem with BBC HD or any of the other HD channels on Freesat, do they. That uses the same basic format for HD (DVB-S2). Yje thing that's different with ITV HD on Freesat compared to BBC and the other HD channels is that ITV are using some no-standard way of signalling what error correction is required.

 

[JBR]

What's the difference between 1080i and 1080p ?

1080i = 1080 lines interlaced (all the odd numbered lines, then the even numbered lines)
1080p = 1080 lines scanned progressively (first, second, third, etc).
The interlaced system is what we have had since the days of 405 lines.

Edit: More information here:

http://uk.pcmag.com/tv-home-theaters/18675/news/1080i-vs-1080p-whats-the-difference

 

[winston1]

Current broadcasts are 1080i. That is all you need.

That would be true is all we ever watched was broadcast TV in 2D HD. But that's not the case, is it. So it isn't true to say that 1080i is all we need. TVs are fed all sorts of signals from interlaced 576i all the way through 1080p24, 1080p 3D and 1080p50 or 60 from consoles. Now there's 4K streamed content too.

Regarding sets Panasonic have let themselves down recently with sets that won't work properly on ITV HD (Freesat). Panasonic customer service don't want to know and are trying to blame it on ITV instead of their poor design.

The sets don't have a problem with BBC HD or any of the other HD channels on Freesat, do they. That uses the same basic format for HD (DVB-S2). Yje thing that's different with ITV HD on Freesat compared to BBC and the other HD channels is that ITV are using some no-standard way of signalling what error correction is required.

ITV are NOT doing anything non standard. Their broadcasts are within the DVB-S2 specifications and the Panasonic TV specifications state that they can handle it. But in practice they can't due to poor design which Japanese pride prevents them from admitting. Apart from a few Sonys no other TVs or set top boxes have any problems with ITV HD. Do you really think a major broadcaster would broadcast non standard signals?

 

[big-all]

Many Thanks......

my comments
if you are prehistoric creature like me[62] you eyes like mine will not notice the clarity difference so a waste off time

 

[Lucid]

ITV are NOT doing anything non standard. Their broadcasts are within the DVB-S2 specifications and the Panasonic TV specifications state that they can handle it. But in practice they can't due to poor design which Japanese pride prevents them from admitting. Apart from a few Sonys no other TVs or set top boxes have any problems with ITV HD. Do you really think a major broadcaster would broadcast non standard signals?

Well then why aren't ITV using the same settings as BBC HD and the rest of the HD broadcasters; you know, the ones that are also within the DVB-S2 specs that don't seem to be causing any TV manufacturer any issues then?