Thoughts on Seiki

[Kaido]

I checked out some Seiki TV sets at Sears today. My local Sears has a surprisingly large TV section. I checked out two sets in particular:

1. 50" 1080p
2. 55" 4K

I'll talk about the 1080p model first. It was between a Vizio and Samsung. Far better than the Vizio in all aspects. The Samsung had more color detail, but was also overly sharp - the Seiki's picture was very smooth, the right kind of smooth, which made up for the lesser color definition. I would pick the Seiki out of those 3 options on the spot, given the choice, and I typically like the Samsung look.

The 4K set was interesting - better than expected in every way, actually. They were running 1080p upscaled and didn't have any 4K content there to view. However, 1080p actually looked GREAT on it! I was expecting it to look like a DVD upscaled on a 1080p TV, but it actually looked better than the sets next to it - far less aliasing & way more picture detail. The motion was noticeably smoother too, a few things had motion graphics and it was much better to watch on the 4K set.

I wish (1) they had had some 4K material to demo, and (2) they had had a computer to test out text readability (for use as a monitor replacement) - I'd be very curious to see that in person, especially since the 39" Seiki 4K UltraHD TV is down to $499. I set my dad up with a 50" 1080p set for his computer monitor, which works great for him, but is too large for my tastes (he does CAD modeling on it & loves that setup for his older eyes with glasses), but a 39" might be pretty good @ 4K resolution.

For TV usage, if my primary content was HD material, I'd definitely consider the 4K set for my next set now that I've seen it in person. Since I dumped the cablebox & Tivo, I mostly live off Netflix & Vudu now, so I guess most of my content would be applicable in terms of acceptable HD to UltraHD upscaling. I was not expecting to be that impressed with it, but I'll take it! I'm not in the market right now, but I do have a clearer path for my next upgrade, haha!

Anyway, HTH a bit if you were looking into Seiki regular HD or 4K sets. Just a quick review from checking them out in person. Yes to both resolutions (Vizio used to be my go-to recommendation, not anymore!).

 

[phillyman36]

Haven't seen it myself. Best thing I can tell you is look at some of the Amazon reviews and go from there.

 

[Kaido]

Haven't seen it myself. Best thing I can tell you is look at some of the Amazon reviews and go from there.

Um. Did you even read my post?

To summarize: I was sharing my thoughts after demoing a pair of Seiki television sets in person. I would recommend them over Vizio, and surprisingly the 4K model upscales 1080p extremely well.

 

[Pacfanweb]

If you think it looks great, that's all that matters. However, if you care what the experts that have reviewed them think, they don't have a lot of good things to say about them other than "it's cheap for a 4k TV"

Personally, I'd find somewhere that has one in a darkened room, because that's where you're going to watch it. LCD's look good in the store because they can go so bright. You won't have it that bright at home, and when you put it on a more realistic setting, you might not be as impressed.

Or...you might, and since your stated "go to" recommendation is Vizio, then you probably do think it looks fine.

I'd have to see it somewhere besides a Sears. All you're doing there is comparing it to other TV's that are set on Torch mode, which is unrealistic.

Maybe at a Best Buy Magnolia store, where there's a dark room. I rather suspect it would come off looking pretty bad compared to the sets they typically have in those, though.

 

[phillyman36]

Sorry maybe I said it wrong. Some people on Amazon have had trouble with support from Seiki. Point is anyone looking to get the tv should check reviews from owners and other review site as well.

 

[Kaido]

No definitely, I agree and I think reviews are important, and viewing it in a better environment is important. I probably just wasn't clear in my thread title.

When people ask me to recommend a basic budget LCD TV (i.e. every family member & friend ever), I usually suggest Vizio since they've traditionally been the best bang-for-your-buck set available. However, I will now be recommending Seiki + a Roku 3 for a decent budget model. Also, strangely enough, I would recommend RCA televisions second behind Seiki after seeing a bunch of models side-by-side with a bunch of Vizio televisions. I believe it's the E-series that is the budget line; that's fallen by the wayside for me to recommend for a "cheap but good" set.

 

[phillyman36]

I have a Dune media player and a Synology nas with a lot of my dvd content on it as well as my blu rays. I would like to see for myself what dvd resolution looks like when upscaled. No expecting miracles but wonder if its acceptable.

 

[cmdrdredd]

The Seiki TVs have questionable electronics from what I've read. A Vizio is built better. The components and the screen are simply better and they are a little more selective when they choose those components. Seiki is like those Korean IPS monitors. They look better than lesser panels but the build quality is not the same as a name brand.

It was probably showing a picture that was overly bright, with blown up colors and such. While it might look good next to a Vizio(I don't know what model you saw) in the store with the bright lights. Take both sets into a room with dimmed lighting (simulate a movie experience) and the Vizio may actually look more natural. This is why a lot of manufacturers have settings set to vivid or torch mode out of the box. Everything is exaggerated and overly bright. This makes it stand out when placed in a retail store with bright lighting surrounding it.

There is a store chain around me that places their TVs in a light controlled section of the store and allows you to handle the remote so you can try setting different modes and adjusting the color a bit. I like being able to do this because I can turn down the brightness, get rid of the overly red saturation, the blooming whites, and try different options and get a better feel for how the TV may perform in a standard environment.

Personally I wouldn't recommend a Seiki to anyone who wants a TV for longevity in a living room. I may recommend it for someone who wants a budget set for a second room or bedroom.

 

[Kaido]

Personally I wouldn't recommend a Seiki to anyone who wants a TV for longevity in a living room. I may recommend it for someone who wants a budget set for a second room or bedroom.

Yup, exactly. There are plenty of other sets to recommend for the money, but after seeing them in the store, I was impressed.

I did get to play with the settings since I was there for about 20 minutes with no salesmen in sight :biggrin:

 

[Kaido]

I have a Dune media player and a Synology nas with a lot of my dvd content on it as well as my blu rays. I would like to see for myself what dvd resolution looks like when upscaled. No expecting miracles but wonder if its acceptable.

DVD with a good upscaler (I used to use an Oppo) looks fine. Not as detailed as Bluray on a 1080p set, but definitely not bad.

I'd be curious to see DVD upscaled to 4K. I'll be working with 4K sets at work later this year, so I'll gave to give that a quick test when I get a chance.