Author Topic: Buying a TV  (Read 3232 times)

Re: Buying a TV
« Reply #25 on: 19 October, 2019, 01:15:02 am »
Q. If you don't use a 4K source, will you notice any difference anyway?

FWIW I can view some TV channels in SD or HD, on a proper HD screen, broadcasting HD material, and in normal viewing (at a reasonable distance) there is surprisingly little difference. There's more difference in the picture quality when viewing in SD when the source material is in HD rather than SD. 

I've seen some impressive 4K demonstrations (and if you are a football fan maybe there is something to be said for it) but there are still picture artefacts and typical movies don't look that much better in 4K to me, not unless you have your nose practically pressed up against a huge screen...

cheers

fuaran

  • rothair gasta
Re: Buying a TV
« Reply #26 on: 19 October, 2019, 02:19:23 am »
Yes, probably not much difference for watching TV/movies. Maybe more noticeable for games consoles, or connecting a PC for text and photos.
And future proofing for any other devices.

Anyway, a bit cheeky to call it 4K when it isn't really.

ian

Re: Buying a TV
« Reply #27 on: 19 October, 2019, 11:38:54 am »
Like with HD before it, there's a lot of smoke and mirrors when it comes down to specifics. Panel fabs are, I imagine, expensive, which means that sure, manufacturers lead with the new latest-and-greatest, but they have to shift their previous investment at scale and keep shifting it.

Anyway, 4k generally looks better, SD and HD will be upscaled and the panel will probably run at a higher refresh rate. Well, it does on our TV. It took a while for me to adjust, initially I found the picture to look a bit false, like it was computer animation. But once you settle in, it's fine, it's pin-sharp and very detailed. It does make the movie-makers work hard though, it puts actual CGI through its paces. The main thing though, with OLED, is the colour space, it's enormous, from terrifying blacks through to joyfully drenched colours.

CommuteTooFar

  • Inadequate Randonneur
Re: Buying a TV
« Reply #28 on: 26 October, 2019, 02:43:49 pm »
Be aware that although 4K sounds good a lot of movies are digitally filmed on 2K.  Post production of special effect films can take a long time so few action films are true 4K even if you buy a 4k bluray player. Transfers to 4k vary quite a bit in quality although most have the new high price point for uhd.  At the moment there are more true 4K rom-coms than grand high concept effects films. As computers get more powerful more films will be made as 4K.

Some older prestige films such as Lawrence of Arabia have a good 4k transfer.
Other films have a bad transfer.  The original Star Wars episode IV had a good enough DVD transfer done but this is the only time it was done so Blu-Ray and UHD are upscaled and you can see the limitations.

https://4kmedia.org/real-or-fake-4k/