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The rise of the 4K TV(updated)

RAMA

RAMA

Admiral
Admiral
Not long ago I posted an article on 4K tvs and how the content and delivery method were coming together to produce the next big thing for TV viewing in the near future..well even then the "affordable" models were over $1500 and if I recall the general response on the thread was to minimize the proliferation of the tech...how the months have changed things! Now you can buy the 4K TVs from their very own display areas in most large technology stores and the price for some lower end models in the $650-700 range. Since I was going to be in the market for a new TV soon anyway I switched my focus to 4K and I'll probably be buying one of the lower $1000 models (possibly $1300-1400 LGs) :techman:

RAMA
 
I think we've reached a point where super awesome new technology just isn't awesome enough to justify big prices. I feel like everybody just finished upgrading to 1080p high-def televisions (hell, some people still don't have those). As the next "big thing," 4K TVs just don't seem like that meaningful an upgrade compared to what we have now, especially since most people aren't going to have their homes set up for it to make a difference in their viewing habits.

From standard definition tube TVs to high def flatscreens, you could justify a huge price difference because the quality you were getting was vastly improved. It was worth the extra cost.

Nowadays, I don't think companies will be able to get away with huge prices for new HD technology because the increase in quality just won't be substantial enough. Eventually, if you actually want people to buy it, you need to make the price more reasonable.
 
Yeah, my TV is a 19" 720p HDTV. I'd LOVE to move up to a bigger TV, but moving to a 4K TV? My DVDs are decent right now, and Blu-ray looks great, but when I do get a new TV, it will be 1080p, because I don't want my DVDs to look like VHS, and my Blu-rays to look like DVDs. Stepping up again, so soon, would just be silly for most people, at this point. It's nice the technology is there, but I'm not convinced it's even remotely needed right now.
 
Unless you play a lot of Blu-ray movies you don't need 1080p. Most Cable is still 1080i or 720p and streaming is still pretty much 720p or less. I don't even want to talk about video games.
 
Well, 1080p TVs are now the same price as 720p TVs were when I got mine. So it will be more of a lateral move in price, but with a nice step up in size.
 
J. Allen said:
Yeah, my TV is a 19" 720p HDTV. I'd LOVE to move up to a bigger TV, but moving to a 4K TV? My DVDs are decent right now, and Blu-ray looks great, but when I do get a new TV, it will be 1080p, because I don't want my DVDs to look like VHS, and my Blu-rays to look like DVDs. Stepping up again, so soon, would just be silly for most people, at this point. It's nice the technology is there, but I'm not convinced it's even remotely needed right now.
Click to expand...


Even this isnt a problem. There are sub $500 and sub $400 models that are less than 39" and from what I understand, the upscaling technology is excellet on most 4K tvs! Your 1080ps should look great. DVDs are another story, they really are obsolete anyway.

I think we've reached a point where super awesome new technology just isn't awesome enough to justify big prices. I feel like everybody just finished upgrading to 1080p high-def televisions (hell, some people still don't have those). As the next "big thing," 4K TVs just don't seem like that meaningful an upgrade compared to what we have now, especially since most people aren't going to have their homes set up for it to make a difference in their viewing habits.

From standard definition tube TVs to high def flatscreens, you could justify a huge price difference because the quality you were getting was vastly improved. It was worth the extra cost.

Nowadays, I don't think companies will be able to get away with huge prices for new HD technology because the increase in quality just won't be substantial enough. Eventually, if you actually want people to buy it, you need to make the price more reasonable.
Click to expand...

I think the reverse has happened, the price performance level is changing SO fast, that something that seemed so far away and out of reach 6 months ago is now perfectly doable. We are talking about a price difference of $1000s in that time and before the next holiday season. I've never seen a technology proliferate within home theater this fast. Every tech store has a huge portion set up for 4K tVs, and the demos are pretty amazing..they convinced me, and I know many others will see them and buy 4K for Christmas.


RAMA
 
I love new technology but I think they are pushing this way too soon.

RAMA said:
Even this isnt a problem. There are sub $500 and sub $400 models that are less than 39" and from what I understand, the upscaling technology is excellet on most 4K tvs! Your 1080ps should look great. DVDs are another story, they really are obsolete anyway.
Click to expand...

At 39", the human eye isn't going to be able to discern the difference between 1080p and 4K.
 
RAMA said:
Even this isnt a problem. There are sub $500 and sub $400 models that are less than 39" and from what I understand, the upscaling technology is excellet on most 4K tvs! Your 1080ps should look great. DVDs are another story, they really are obsolete anyway.
Click to expand...

I can't afford to replace my DVDs, and they're not obsolete, as they are still being sold in huge numbers. VHS? Yeah, that's obsolete, but DVDs are still current media.
 
J. Allen said:
RAMA said:
Even this isnt a problem. There are sub $500 and sub $400 models that are less than 39" and from what I understand, the upscaling technology is excellet on most 4K tvs! Your 1080ps should look great. DVDs are another story, they really are obsolete anyway.
Click to expand...

I can't afford to replace my DVDs, and they're not obsolete, as they are still being sold in huge numbers. VHS? Yeah, that's obsolete, but DVDs are still current media.
Click to expand...

I simply don't think there's yet enough 1080p media to justify another technological jump. No one broadcasts in 1080p, my cable company doesn't send a 1080p signal to my house. Video game consoles still have trouble outputting games in 1080p/60.

It has only been about ten-years since the switchover from NTSC. I doubt broadcasters and cable companies are prepared to pay up again for 4K broadcast equipment.

This feels a lot like 3D. TV manufacturers trying to drive new sales. But they don't have the programming or equipment to back it up. Heck, the Xbox One and PS4 both have just launched and will be around for six or seven years before the next consoles hit.

http://www.techradar.com/us/news/te...king-to-the-playstation-4-or-xbox-one-1219888

Early talk about a 4K expansion of the brand's Video Unlimited streaming service has so far come to naught, and Netflix 4K is certainly not heading to either console.

The streaming VoD service, which will debut on 2014 4K UHD screens from Samsung, LG, Sony and Visio, requires a hardware HEVC h.265 decoder to work, something missing from both consoles.
Click to expand...
 
To be honest, I think on things like television, game systems, and the like, people are a bit burned out. We've seen so many advancements, so much that brings rich, brilliant media quality everywhere we go, that saying "Wait! We have something even better!" just falls on deaf or tired ears. Oh, there's always the early adopters, but most people will likely ignore it.

Any advancements right now just bring diminishing returns. Wait 10-15 years, and I think people will start to get curiously itchy for 4K, just to see what it can do.
 
4K is great, but I unless set up a home theater room, I'm not seeing the point in upgrading now. Another problem is that a lot of television is produced in HD, so there's nothing being televised that can be shown in 4K (even shows still shot on film are finished at 1080p). There's a similar issue with movies being made today as they're mostly finished at 2K, such as ST09 (in STID's case, they could release that in 4K since there's the IMAX cut available).

Until there's enough media to justify going 4K, I'm not upgrading. I didn't even upgrade to HD until 2009, and that was only because I got a PS3.
 
It's diminishing returns.

No home recording to VHS tape - massive jump.
VHS to DVD - big improvement.
DVD to Bluray/standard to HiDef, improvement.
HiDef to 4K - less massive improvement.

I think 4K is great, but as we inch towards perfect picture quality each step will have less of an effect. 1080 is good enough for most people at the moment and manufacturers desperate for the next big thing are going to struggle to convince the man in the street. Home 3D failed and Bluray hasn't killed DVD.

In music, no end of better quality replacements for CD's tanked. The market just doesn't support new formats at short intervals.
 
Unless you sit less than 4 feet from a screen that's 39 inches or larger, you won't be able to physically see a difference in resolution between 1080p and 4K. Now this is not to say that there won't be other image improvements such as brighter colors, richer blacks and wider viewing angles, but that's all incidental to the screen being 4K.

I won't bother buying 4K unless it's basically the only option when I need to replace my current tv. The same reason my current tv is 1080p and not 720p.
 
I currently wouldn't touch ANY 4K monitor (flat screen or front projector) until the latest HDMI specifications for 4K have actually been settled.

Unless there is standard for 4K HDMI digital transmission, you may end up buying a 4K device that's either not future proof or will require a hardware upgrade at some point in the future.

Bob
 
Not sure if there is the demand for 4K, at this time. Not opposed to it, but I see no reason at this time to replace my HD TV as it serves my needs.
 
MacLeod said:
Not sure if there is the demand for 4K, at this time. Not opposed to it, but I see no reason at this time to replace my HD TV as it serves my needs.
Click to expand...

Exactly. Most people have just upgraded to the 1080p HD sets. Now suddenly there's 4K, and people are supposed to do it again so soon? That's why I laugh about the curved TVs which are being pushed now.
 
It seems likely that, as happened with 480i TVs, all TVs will simply become 4K and manufacturers will just stop making 1080p TVs. We are no doubt several years off from that, but it seems the likely outcome.

On the plus side, this means PC monitor resolutions will rebound from what is basically a dark age of shitty resolutions right now.
 
:wtf: Curved? I had to look that up.

Wrap around gaming experience.

Do you have a curved wall in need of a TV?

Some imgs following use graphics to illustrate a visual advantage, but I think it's all blowing smoke.

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/...B3G2d9u9vFxALp9WmuEl8ysvzPy45VOrnjfuiCnJypOJg

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/..._WBhpcWV8vtCmIJ7fB2FtF762slrTwSTEUTe9CYM8BYgW

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/...g2HTLEEUrM-Me3ud9TBAwjOpK05O2tjMUUIvZsk41gPAw

Oh wait, here's something with information attached.

http://www.johnlewis.com/inspiration-and-advice/technology/samsung-curved-tv

I don't know, seems too gimmicky to me.

As for the topic, great. My current TV is on its second power source. By the time it fries again I should be ready for a new one all together and if 4k's are that inexpensive by then, well, why not.
 
Por que TV?

Keeper, some of the "benefits" listed in that last article you linked sound specious, like some of the light slipping past you with flat screens. As for the whole "sweet spot" thing, I'd say that "most" people do not sit so close to a screen that it fills their entire field of view—based on an informal analysis of movie audiences over the years. (Almost no one would sit in that forward section of the cinema, but that's back when cinema screens were actually BIG. Today's multiplexes take the theater I saw STAR WARS in and cut it into four rooms, sometimes literally, as one can see the bizarre angling of the chairs.)

As for the immersed gamer, there's Oculus Rift and other VR visors. No doubt much cheaper and more effective than a 6-meter wrap-around TV.

If you want to know where OLED will really take off, I think it's in clothing. No more static T-shirt patterns. People will plug in their smartphones and run episodes of STAR TREK, or something like that.
 
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