# 4k tv affordable? worth upgrade?



## kingnoob (Mar 12, 2013)

is it worth upgrading from a old 2010 sony bravia 1080p LCD? 
Budget will be 1000-2500 later this year , right now stuck with sony lcd,. Broke for a little while.

Which brand is best?? today , when I got mine sony/samsung was best.
:dizzy:When will 8K resolution or Full Ultra HD (FUHD) ? come out is it better off I wait for that?


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## tripplej (Oct 23, 2011)

For me, I will only get 4K (Ultra HD) TV when broadcast channels are in 4K.

ABC HD - broadcasting 720p
CBS HD - broadcasting 1080i
FOX HD - broadcasting 720p
NBC HD - broadcasting 1080i
PBS HD - broadcasting 1080i
The CW HD - broadcasting 1080i

As you can see no 4K.. Now, of course there maybe some special shows like Olympics, etc. that are in 4K but that is not enough for me to change.

Moreover, streaming is starting to show 4K via netflix and amazon prime but from what I hear it is a mix bag and it all depends on your broadband speed to get that 4K.. 

In addition to this, there is no 4K DVD player yet in the market and I believe the current set of 4K TV's will have old specs in regards to this as well so best to wait.

So, I will stay with my 1080p TV till things improve. That is my 2 cents.


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

We just bought a new 4k LCD panel, and we love it. One nice advantage is it upscales all of our movies, and tv shows to 4k so they look much sharper, plus the colors are more vibrant than our old set.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

I guess it also depends on the current size of your Sony? If it's small the larger sets are nice. As said there is little to no true 4k content even available and what is is often just up scaled or the source is 4k but due to bandwidth restrictions gets compressed so much it's hardly 4k any more.


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## mechman (Feb 8, 2007)

For me, 4K isn't worth it. There's just not enough there to justify the cost. Now when Quantum Dot technology and HDR start showing up... I'll be interested! :T


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## vidiot33 (Dec 12, 2013)

mechman said:


> For me, 4K isn't worth it. There's just not enough there to justify the cost. Now when Quantum Dot technology and HDR start showing up... I'll be interested! :T


Agreed. The smart money will wait for standards to settle and much more software to appear.

Sent from my iPhone using HTShack


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## vinnie97 (Jun 29, 2014)

Isn't quantum dot already here? Sony certainly used it a few years ago in one of their flagships but has since switched to phosphor-coated LEDs delivering equivalent performance for a more affordable price. It's really not bringing much to the table other than, I believe, a wider color gamut and thus you need a means of delivery and the content to match.

OLED is the most significant upgrade at the moment (which I would take with or without the endless hype machine that is HDR, involving a standards shakeout that doesn't look to be settling anytime soon...I'm looking at you, Vizi-Ho!) courtesy of its contrast ratio supremacy, but you will have to pay through the nose (fortunately, prices are continually coming down).

The original Netflix content that is filmed in 4K is reported by multiple owners to be on par with Blu-ray (of course you need a wide pipe aka broadband connection), so that is a promising bright spot as discs continue to flounder. 

The best LCD in 2015 is arguably the Sony XBR-75X940C, which gave the flawed LG OLED at the shootout a run for its money. It purportedly even topples the Sharp Elite (the best all-around performer of 2011) in all performance parameters. Downside is the cost at $8k, and the size may be overwhelming to some (75"). The LG 65EG9600 (OLED) officially won said shootout this year in spite of its flaws, so one can only imagine how much it would have trounced the competition had the darkening edges phenomenon (in low APL content) not been present. Newer builds from July/August onwards purportedly are much improved in this area (time will tell, and I have seen a few from June that look better already). Downside: The cost is $6k for the 65", and it's unnecessarily curved. The flat variants are due in a month or less and price will hopefully be more competitive (personally hoping for a street price of $5k before the end of the year). The 55" variant will probably be around $3500 to 4000. The 1080p model available today (55EC9300), which co-won 2014's VE shootout, has appeared at the likes of Fry's and Microcenter for as low as $1500, so it's a great compromise if you're okay with 55" in the interim and would rather wait for the 4K/HDR fiasco to be resolved. Since you've waited 5 years already, it might be prudent to wait until 2016 and take that opportunity to save up more for the eventual purchase.

8K rez? Might want to move to Japan for that. Elsewhere you'll probably be waiting a decade or more.


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## mechman (Feb 8, 2007)

vinnie97 said:


> Isn't quantum dot already here? Sony certainly used it a few years ago in one of their flagships but has since switched to phosphor-coated LEDs delivering equivalent performance for a more affordable price. It's really not bringing much to the table other than, I believe, a wider color gamut and thus you need a means of delivery and the content to match.


It's similar to folks saying they own an LED display when it actually is still really a LCD. Sony used Quantum Dot technology as a backlight or a film IIRC. They were not true QD displays. No manufacturer has made a true QD display yet as I don't think they are there yet. But when they are there, OLED would probably be a thing of the past. I think 2017 would be an optimistic guess.


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## vinnie97 (Jun 29, 2014)

Oh, you mean using quantum dots in an emissive capacity and bypassing any need for a backlight altogether, which I didn't think was possible, and it would be the only conceivable way to make OLED a thing of the past (granted the XBR-75X940 is already performing close to OLED standards in contrast ratio performance). 

Sony did have a crystal LED prototype back at CES 2012 that worked in an emissive capacity, but it's apparently not viable for mass manufacture, or else we would have heard more about it by now. Is this the kind of quantum dot breakthrough you're waiting for? I think 2017 is very optimistic for a technology that has yet to be demonstrated in even prototype form as far as I know.


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## mechman (Feb 8, 2007)

Didn't QDVision or Nanosys have a prototype? I thought one of those two did. :scratch:


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## vinnie97 (Jun 29, 2014)

Perhaps so (it would require some research on my part), but these proofs-of-concept by tech companies don't mean anything is on the horizon as far as mass production and viability is concerned. We're still waiting for glasses-free 3D that was promised for at least the last 2 years.


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## Rick R (Dec 3, 2013)

vinnie97 said:


> Perhaps so (it would require some research on my part), but these proofs-of-concept by tech companies don't mean anything is on the horizon as far as mass production and viability is concerned. *We're still waiting for glasses-free 3D that was promised for at least the last 2 years. *


*+1*
Recently bought (so called, although it seems fairly comprehensive to most of the so called specs except 60hz) Panny 4kTV with active 3D and glasses as standard so tried it out, never was going to wear glasses for this, but pleasantly surprised, Avatar was amazing and Jupiter Ascending was impressive. We rarely use it but its fun for the few 3D BD's we have which of course there is 1080 in each eye and no apparent dimming with this model. What is even more appreciated in the 2D mode is the sharper clearer picture when properly set up, on occasion its just like looking through a window and the sample 4K clips from several different sources are pretty impressive. Would normally have waited but the old TV was coming on for 8 years or so and beginning to show compatibility problems:surrender:. The Panny built like a brick outhouse was a a really good price close to a quality 1080 model of similar size so went for it, To be honest, glad we did  all pretty much as ellis63 said above.


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## kingnoob (Mar 12, 2013)

Yeah I upgraded then regretted it , better picture . But when I was not home my mom let my sister burrow my old tv . So my 40” tv will be decimated or closer to dying when I get it back . Gotta work on getting funds to move out !!


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## Andre (Feb 15, 2010)

Upgrading from a 1080P LED to a 4k LED, I would say no. Upgrading from 1080P to OLED, depends:
Yes - If you plan a streaming 4K content such as Netflix premium 4k or you will be purchasing a 4K Bluray and purchasing 4k disc material
No - if the above is not true or you plan on watching native 1080P material. I believe "Up-scaling" is a like "getting blood from a stone" you can't create more then what is there, all that is done is a copy of the same signal is projected milliseconds apart making it "appear" to have more detail, which depending on the math looks bad - ok. Notice then when a TV is calibrated most if not all the TV's added tricks are turned off.


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