4K home theatre system

The Tourist

The Tourist

The Tourist

Associate
Joined
31 May 2012
Posts
134
OK, so there's a lot of information out there about 4K TVs, home cinemas, amps, speakers etc. I think I've got a basic overall understanding of what I need/want, but I'm still a novice at this, so would like to see what you guys have to say :)

The plan is to connect a 4K TV, AV receiver/AMP, 7.1 speakers and PC. I may connect some other stuff later. Do any of you guys have or are planning to setup something like this?
If so what sort of configuration do you have?
What has your experience been like?
Any unforeseen problems?

I think my PC is powerful enough to deliver the 4K content I want, and with the GPU die shrink next year I think there'll be single cards powerful enough to push 4K well. So I'll probably upgrade when they come out.

In terms of other media: streaming 4K via internet and 4K TV broadcasts; I've heard mixed information about this. Seems like reliable 4K content from those sources is a while off, it's almost like the 4K displays are ahead of the content available. Same goes for 4K blue ray players which aren't out yet as far as I can tell.
I think most of my 4K content will be delivered from my PC via games.

Anyway, the TVs I'm looking at include the SAMSUNG SUHD UE65JS9000 and the LG 65EF950V. I think both are really good, but I'm not sure if the OLED is worth the extra £1000!

It'd be great if those TVs had a 120/144hz refresh rate, Displayport 1.3 and Adaptive sync, but that sort of technology seems to be restricted to PC monitors at the moment unfortunately.

Also, the 4K TVs are really only 3840x2160 pixels. I thought:

UHD = 3840x2160 pixels

4K = 4096x2160 pixels

Why aren't the 4K TVs 4096x2160 pixels?



Do you guys have any recommendations for AV receiver/AMPs? I've used a Denon amp with Bose speakers before and the setup was quite good. I'd really like a wireless setup this time though; if at all possible I want to avoid wires all over the place as much as possible.

Do you think it's possible to get a quality wireless amp and surround sound configuration?


I've saved up for a nice system, so my budget is quite flexible, hoping to get a good festive package deal :)
 
4K is the resolution used in the cinema industry. But the resolution isn't a 16:9 picture shape. It's slightly wider. That doesn't matter so much in cinemas because the source image can either be scaled to fit or the projectionists can use anamorphic lenses to reformat the picture in whatever aspect ratio the director intended.

Domestic TVs are 16:9. Our broadcast television industry is now based around everything fitting within a 16:9 frame, and the dominant HD resolution for that frame is 1920x1080. Double the dimensions each way and you'll arrive at 3840x2160. This makes the maths easy for the inevitable scaling process required to map a 1080p image on to a 2160p panel.

Unfortunately the marketing people think 4K sounds catchier than UHD, so it's no real surprise to see it creeping in to common use.

http://tech2.hu/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/blaupunkt_40_402i_ultra_hd_led_tv_tesco_2_tech2.jpg[IMG]

[COLOR="Yellow"]**No hotlinking please**[/COLOR]

WRT your plans for a 4K/UHD home cinema set-up, and particularly one for gaming, then I'd avoid OLED. The technology has the same problem that Plasma had in that it's easy to burn parts of the screen with static images. I have had a couple of Samsung OLED phones where the screen shows definite signs of premature wear from menu bars. This then leaves the TV choice as LED LCD. I think you just have to do some research on the latency of each display to see how lag might affect things.
 
Its a shame really, as it would have been a good time to 'standardise formats as it annoys me having black bars on films which iirc is due to the film being in a 21:9 format which i guess is what true 4k is.
 
16:9 is Widescreen though, and anything filmed 1.85:1 will fit almost perfectly.

Though most movies are 2.39:1, so 21:9 would be better if you were only watching those.

16:9 is a good compromise really.
21:9 makes 4:3 and 1.85:1 aspect ratio sources really stretched.

There's not much point filming EastEnders or something like that at 2.39:1, therefore it's hard to standardise.


Anyway, OP - If you are serious about gaming at 4k, then next year's offering from AMD (confirmed HDMI 2.0 / DP 1.3) or Nvidia Pascal might let you run at a decent frame rate at 4k (we won't know yet)

But at the moment you'd be advised to avoid OLED 4k TV's, as the input lag/response time is pretty poor - even though it generally provides the deepest blacks and best image.

You might find the 2016 TV's, which are generally released around April time improve upon the technology though.

Basically - It's not the best time to buy unless you can get a cracking deal on a 4k TV.


AV Receivers - I recommend this years Denon range as they support 4k at full colour 4:4:4 60hz. I am using a Denon AVR-X3200W at the moment and it's very good.
 
Thanks for the replies guys :)

As nice as the OLED screens are, I think I'll avoid them and their premium price tag at the moment.
I don't have a TV at the moment, so I could do with one, and am hoping to get a really good deal.

Also looking forward to see what the next gen GPUs bring to the table, nice to see AMD will finally add HDMI 2.0 like nVidia has had for a while now. If only the TVs had DP 1.3, ah well...

Thanks for your AV receiver suggestion VincentHanna, think I should spend more of my budget on this and speakers than the TV?

How have you got your setup connected? Do you have your PC connected? Is the GPU connected directly into the receiver via HDMI and the TV and receiver connected via a second HDMI cable?
 
VincentHanna said:
1
Anyway, OP - If you are serious about gaming at 4k, then next year's offering from AMD (confirmed HDMI 2.0 / DP 1.3) or Nvidia Pascal might let you run at a decent frame rate at 4k (we won't know yet)

But at the moment you'd be advised to avoid OLED 4k TV's, as the input lag/response time is pretty poor - even though it generally provides the deepest blacks and best image.

You might find the 2016 TV's, which are generally released around April time improve upon the technology though.

Basically - It's not the best time to buy unless you can get a cracking deal on a 4k TV.


AV Receivers - I recommend this years Denon range as they support 4k at full colour 4:4:4 60hz. I am using a Denon AVR-X3200W at the moment and it's very good.
Click to expand...

When you say April time, is that in the UK? Are the TVs showcased during CES at the beginning of January each year normally available in April of that year?

I've been seeing prices of around £565 for the Denon AVR-X3200W, did you pay around that?

I'm also seeing Denon receivers like the AVR-X4200W for over £800! is it really worth that price?

I'm trying to get an idea of what exactly I'd need for a quality home theater sound system and therefore what sort of budget I'd be looking at.
 
I paid £1300 for the Denon AVR-3200W, Q Acoustic 3050 floorstanding front speakers, 3090 Centre speaker, 3010 Surround speakers and a 3070 Subwoofer as a package deal.

As a general rule, the more you spend on speakers the more you need to spend on the A/V receiver.

And yes, TV's announced very shortly at CES will generally be available by April.
 
I wouldn't say a 4K TV would be worth it this year. It is possible next year, but more likely the true value will come in 2017. If you need a TV now, and cannot wait, I'd just get a good 1080p. You'll pick up a great one for a great price.

As for the sounds, I run an Onkyo 609 amp, which is quite good (but it is a few years old now, and wouldn't necessarily buy another Onkyo). When I upgrade it, I'll be looking at a Yamaha next I think. But for reference, I spent around £600 on the amp to run speakers totaling over double that. So I'm running B&W 685 speakers up front, 686's at rear, HTM61 centre, and an ASW sub. But keep an eye out on ebay and the like. You can pick up good quality speakers, second hand, for not too much money.

Of course, you could go for a Sonos playbar / sub / play 1's for a completely wireless solution. It's meant to be quite a good set-up.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom