Ultra Hd/4k televisions, Do You Own One?

[Pghpooh]

Are there any owners of Ultra HD sets out there who can comment on the picture quality, etc?
Most advertising I have seen state that the set up-converts the signal to 4k. How does that affect the picture, etc.

 

[desura]

I'm kinda curious on how the best LED sets with local dimming are now WRT black levels.

 

[Phanuel]

Unless you've got actual 4K content, what's the point in purchasing on of these sets yet?

 

[DesiPower]

Futureproofing

 

[biostud]

No, I don't even own a TV. But I use a TV tuner with my computer, so I have a 2560x1440 TV

 

[NutBucket]

The LG/Samsung sets are VERY impressive. However, I wouldn't buy one today as we have no idea about future connectivity. I know the LG sets have some sort of external processor/interface box that the salesman claimed is "upgradeable"....if LG decides to. So no, would not buy.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Futureproofing

Except when 4K standards are decided on most current TVs will have the wrong inputs. Few are hdmi 2.0.

Current 4K adopters are simply pushing the pile so eventually we all can benefit. Thank you early adopters for throwing good money at what will be obsolete tech when we get an abundance of 4k material.

It is like HD all over again, and those people who bought HDTVs without HDMI.

 

[BrightCandle]

I remember the SD to HD upscaling and it was basically rubbish, wasn't worth having. You just can't add information that isn't there, all you can do is blur the existing information together and simulate something in between, but it doesn't normally look very good. Actually the real question is what does the scalar do with 1080p content. Does it just draw 1 1080p pixel into 4 pixels of the screen or does it try and apply its magic and mix it with the pixels next to it and produce a blurry messy image?

Right now the standards aren't in place to do 4k properly in the living room. DisplayPort and PCs have just now gotten to the point of this working well without all sorts of workarounds and TVs aren't going to be worthwhile until they say they have the appropriate HDMI 2.0 standard in place. The 30hz 4k TVs are going to be just like buying a 720p HD TV was back in the day, worthless because everyone will eventually just get 1080p@60 and the same will happen on 4k (2160p) as well.

 

[DesiPower]

I agree, I am not buying 4k TV until movies start coming out in 4K disks, not that 4k steam crap but actual physical disks.

 

[tential]

Except when 4K standards are decided on most current TVs will have the wrong inputs. Few are hdmi 2.0.

Current 4K adopters are simply pushing the pile so eventually we all can benefit. Thank you early adopters for throwing good money at what will be obsolete tech when we get an abundance of 4k material.

It is like HD all over again, and those people who bought HDTVs without HDMI.

This. There are only a handful of sets I've seen out there with HDMI 3.0 and 4K and I don't think I've seen them for sale. Most were just press releases/shown at some show. I've seen some 4K sets already though at 65 inches and 3k price range so it's already coming down very fast. I wouldn't be surprised if there were decent 4K sets in time for the holiday season with the specs to make them worthwhile.

Even then though, it's pointless without content or a videocard to drive it.

I thought about purchasing one at 3.5k-4k, but it doesn't make sense. I'd rather spend that $4000 in 2014 to get a 4K HDTV+Videocard so that I can play games at 4K resolution and watch TV. Better that than be an early adopter with 0 content and needing a relatively expensive setup (compared to what I have now) in order to game at a 4K resolution happily.

 

[reallyscrued]

Futureproofing

...so you admit there is no present advantage to owning one?

 

[Zaap]

Futureproofing

I've never wanted to future-proof a TV quite frankly. To me its the one component I want current for the standards available now, but when the standards change and the tech matures (and prices go way down)... TV gets replaced.

I've seen people's last-gen "future proof" TVs hat were years too early (and THOUSANDS too costly) for the future they were supposedly waiting for and its often been kinda sad. Many end up pathetic yardsale items and even giveaways that fetch less than brand new TVs with better stats.

 

[DesiPower]

I never buy the latest greatest electronics either, I wait until they start getting rid of last years model . 4K is definitely not on my list

 

[purbeast0]

i saw a 60 or 70 inch one in microcenter and holy shit the picture is crazy clear. i won't be buying one any time soon though. i'll upgrade my projector to a 4k projector before i'd up my tv to a 4k tv. but it won't happen until either consoles are at 4k (not happening any time soon) or there is a big movie library on 4k discs and redbox carries them (probably not happening any time soon either).

 

[poofyhairguy]

Just a bad year to buy a TV. With plasma almost dead at most price points 1080p took a step back this year, while at the high-end 4K tvs don't have the HDMI 2.0 needed to not be obsolete.

Next year 4K offerings will be much more competitive.

 

[Hinda65]

I've been shopping them....I'm still on 720p so I've been looking at 65"$2000.00 1080p vs the 65" $3000.00 4k....for me, the $1000.00 would be worth it to have 4k capabilities.

I was eyeballing the Sony on sale for $2800 but I definitely want HDMI 2.0 so I may hold off till later this year...I'd also like to know if the 240hz 4k's are superior to the 120hz? Anyone have any input on that question?

 

[Railgun]

Next year 4K offerings will be much more competitive.

Alongside the 8k stuff that will start to surface.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Futureproofing

Not really. By the time there's 4k content to amount to anything, TV's will be a lot better than they are now, so you'd want a new one anyway.

 

[Pacfanweb]

I'm kinda curious on how the best LED sets with local dimming are now WRT black levels.

Still not as good as Plasma. But the very top LED sets (which are more than twice the price of the top Plasma) are close.

 

[JackBurton]

I've been shopping them....I'm still on 720p so I've been looking at 65"$2000.00 1080p vs the 65" $3000.00 4k....for me, the $1000.00 would be worth it to have 4k capabilities.

I was eyeballing the Sony on sale for $2800 but I definitely want HDMI 2.0 so I may hold off till later this year...I'd also like to know if the 240hz 4k's are superior to the 120hz? Anyone have any input on that question?

Which 4K Sony sets were you looking at? Last years 900A can be upgraded to HDMI 2.0 with a firmware update, however the TV still won't be able to do 4K @ 60Hz. Not sure how much that matters to you as that content is probably years away. You can also check out Sony's new 950B, but that's a tad bit over your budget. Either set is gorgeous and will upscale 1080p content very nicely.

If I was in the market for a new set today, it would definitely be a 4K set.

 

[s44]

Just a bad year to buy a TV.

Disagree. With Vizio selling 4k full array for the same price as last year's edge lit 1080p, it's a crazy good year to buy. Not at the bleeding edge though, true.

 

[Hinda65]

Which 4K Sony sets were you looking at?

I was looking at this XBR65X850A (120hz) for $2900
and this XBR65X950B (240hz) which is $7999...don't know why its that much more for 240hz? Must have something else im not seeing.

btw.....Big Trouble in Little China....best movie Ever!

 

[JackBurton]

I was looking at this XBR65X850A (120hz) for $2900
and this XBR65X950B (240hz) which is $7999...don't know why its that much more for 240hz? Must have something else im not seeing.

The 950B is Sony's latest flagship panel for 2014. It was just released and will most likely be one of the best, if not THE best 4K set this years. However at $8k, I believe it's priced a little too high. It really should be more like $6K. Price aside, early impressions are extremely positive. How good? At CES some say it could be mistaken for an OLED set. Yeah, it's that good.

Here's a thread you can start reading to give you a little more information on it.

Sony XBR-950B

Awesome set!

btw.....Big Trouble in Little China....best movie Ever!

I agree.

 

[Hinda65]

Thanks for the info Jack.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Disagree. With Vizio selling 4k full array for the same price as last year's edge lit 1080p, it's a crazy good year to buy. Not at the bleeding edge though, true.

Vizio has been delivering good value for a while now, they have been my go-to recommendation to whoever can't get plasma because their room is too bright.

With that said, for the money I would MUCH rather have a mid-level 1080p Panasonic Plasma from last year that beats the Vizio 4k in every picture quality category except brightness and a resolution (that you can't take full advantage of without HDMI 2.0).

So the year to year value is lower, unless you judge TVs like a computer and go by the specs (which is a huge mistake).

Soon as we can connect to one at 60fps then 4K will be a step forward. Until then if I am TV shopping this year and I can't afford the F8500, then the best bet is to get something super cheap that I will give to mom or someone when the HDMI 2.0 TVs arrive.