Is now a good time to consider 4k?

DiscoDave · 4 Nov 2016 at 16:19

Hi all,

I currently have a old Panasonic Plasma (GT30 I think) paired with a Onkyo htx-22hdxHTX with an additional center speaker. The picture is still good and I find the 3.1 setup to provide much better audio quality compared to the built in speakers, particularly with dialogue scenes in films.

With the growing catalog of 4k content and price reductions in 4k tv sets I'm wondering if now's a good time to make the jump?

I understand I will have to retire my Onkyo setup (maybe use it on my PC instead?) Would a sound bar provide a similar level of performance with regards to having that center speaker for making dialogue clearer?

Thanks,

Begbie · 4 Nov 2016 at 16:26

Do you use 4K content, if yes then get one. If not, keep the GT30 its an awesome looking TV,

DiscoDave · 4 Nov 2016 at 16:28

Begbie said:
Do you use 4K content, if yes then get one. If not, keep the GT30 its an awesome looking TV,

Well, not at the moment as I don't have a 4k playback device

.

I do have netflix and amazon prime subscriptions, which will be my current source of 4K content should I decide to upgrade.

tom_nieto · 4 Nov 2016 at 21:15

Hold on to your plasma for as long as you possibly can. The PQ is still excellent and the next big thing is OLED and prices are falling all the time. I would not buy a 4K LCD with OLED becoming much more mainstream.

zom247 · 5 Nov 2016 at 09:30

DiscoDave said:
Hi all,

I currently have a old Panasonic Plasma (GT30 I think) paired with a Onkyo htx-22hdxHTX with an additional center speaker. The picture is still good and I find the 3.1 setup to provide much better audio quality compared to the built in speakers, particularly with dialogue scenes in films.

With the growing catalog of 4k content and price reductions in 4k tv sets I'm wondering if now's a good time to make the jump?

I understand I will have to retire my Onkyo setup (maybe use it on my PC instead?) Would a sound bar provide a similar level of performance with regards to having that center speaker for making dialogue clearer?

Thanks,

I have the same Onkyo setup as you along with my Panasonic plasma and I've also been looking at getting a 4k telly.

Just a question about your post though, why would you have to retire the Onkyo if you bought a new tv? All I was going to do was plug it into the new telly or am I missing something?

WYNIR0 · 5 Nov 2016 at 09:34

I was considering the same, but this video is worth a look 1st.I'll be waiting until my 8 year old Panasonic Plasma dies 1st.

DiscoDave · 6 Nov 2016 at 00:16

zom247 said:
I have the same Onkyo setup as you along with my Panasonic plasma and I've also been looking at getting a 4k telly.

Just a question about your post though, why would you have to retire the Onkyo if you bought a new tv? All I was going to do was plug it into the new telly or am I missing something?

I thought the onkyo wouldn't output 4k but I'm mistaken.

dbmzk1 · 6 Nov 2016 at 07:32

zom247 said:
I have the same Onkyo setup as you along with my Panasonic plasma and I've also been looking at getting a 4k telly.

Just a question about your post though, why would you have to retire the Onkyo if you bought a new tv? All I was going to do was plug it into the new telly or am I missing something?

It will not pass through 4K, or 3D, HDR, etc. Depends on how you've got it setup I guess. If you go source > amp > TV it will not work when watching 4K stuff. If you go source > TV > amp then it will do, but ideally you shouldn't have it setup like that as 99% of TVs only pass through a basic stereo signal rather than the original source.

Schizo · 8 Nov 2016 at 06:47

I was thinking the same,i dont need or want a 4k tv as the picture is not that important to me (within reason) as i think any branded tv has a good picture now days.

I was actually after a tv for the bedroom,the only thing i wanted was a branded tv and 50"
(i have a lg 50" plasma and couldn't go down in size) and a price of £400,i did find a 4k tv (and its sitting here in its box

) at 49" for £399.99,i just got the best i could get for the money,it wont be set up for a few weeks yet but looking forward to seeing what it looks like.

Psycho Sonny · 8 Nov 2016 at 08:41

i know prime has limited 4k content, don't know about netflix.

I would say the 4k streams are worth it if you watch a lot of prime and netflix. the 4k streams aree of a much better quality than the 1080p streams so although you will notice a difference it won't be due to it being 4k but a much better quality stream. majority of people then assume it looks good because it's 4k but that isn't the reason why.

even on my mates 65" 4k set. 4k content looks the same as 1080p blu rays. there is no difference in quality. unless you get a HDR set it sparkles but then you need HDR content.

basically there isn't enough content. i bought one but that was due to me knowing the wife wouldn't let me upgrade for years. so rather than buy something to get me by then buy when 4k is needed i plunged into it now.

so if you have to buy a tv now then yes it has to be 4k. if you can hold out then your better off waiting.

4k content atm is pricey or it's streams which albeit good aren't proper high bit rate 4k and look more like what 1080p should be on streams.

DarkMatter · 8 Nov 2016 at 12:21

From what I remember about the transition between DVD - Blu ray I always felt that really high bit rate/quality DVDs matched low quality 1080p streams. I would be interested to see 1080p Blu ray vs 4k Blu ray as that is a fairer comparison than 1080p blu ray vs 4k stream.

Psycho Sonny · 8 Nov 2016 at 16:36

DarkMatter said:
From what I remember about the transition between DVD - Blu ray I always felt that really high bit rate/quality DVDs matched low quality 1080p streams. I would be interested to see 1080p Blu ray vs 4k Blu ray as that is a fairer comparison than 1080p blu ray vs 4k stream.

i've seen proper 4k content which is blu rays only and it is stunning.

however how many buying 4k tv's are buying 4k blu rays? a handful at best. £20+ per movie is too much when you can wait 6 months and watch on prime for £5 a month.

varkanoid · 9 Nov 2016 at 14:56

Netflix 4k is pretty good. Daredevil is pretty good, not watched Luke Cage yet. A fair bit of series/films in 4k.

UHD blurrays are even better and do give you that wow factor when you first see them plus they are region free so you can get them cheaper from US or Australia and earlier than UK. Mad Max is a good one, the Star Trek films too. Batman v Superman was okay but didnt improve the story !

Not watched Deadpool yet. Got a few more UHD films too. The Revenant is supposed to be the jaw dropping one.

Craig R · 9 Nov 2016 at 15:23

Is your screen going to be big enough for you to notice any difference?

Left = distance you view the TV from
Bottom = screen size

jpaul · 9 Nov 2016 at 15:41

avforums have a number of articles saying that the ~18Mb/s netflix 4k hevc stream is similar quality to playing the blu-ray (bit rate is similar to sky & BT) - discussed in other threads on OC's
so (if Lewis's etc) do not have netflix should probably audition big 4k screens with blu-rays to see how it will look plus some 1080p HDTV live.

In terms of when to buy - have not seen any discussion in current threads of whether brexit is going to push up prices (like dell/apple have done) - or is there that much margin.

theone8181 · 10 Nov 2016 at 07:43

jpaul said:
avforums have a number of articles saying that the ~18Mb/s netflix 4k hevc stream is similar quality to playing the blu-ray (bit rate is similar to sky & BT) - discussed in other threads on OC's
so (if Lewis's etc) do not have netflix should probably audition big 4k screens with blu-rays to see how it will look plus some 1080p HDTV live.

In terms of when to buy - have not seen any discussion in current threads of whether brexit is going to push up prices (like dell/apple have done) - or is there that much margin.

As in the bitrate of 4k netflix is similar to 4k bluray?

jpaul · 10 Nov 2016 at 07:56

here 4K Netflix vs Blu-ray: Round Two - 4k netflix much lower bit rate than blu-ray but higher resolution and also hevc - and they think quality of experience is similar.

afterthought : not yet having 4k myself, in the interim, I would like to get a 4k netflix streaming device and have that stream downscaled to my 1080p

Psycho Sonny · 10 Nov 2016 at 14:26

Craig R said:
Is your screen going to be big enough for you to notice any difference?

Left = distance you view the TV from
Bottom = screen size

this graph is a load of tosh.

why?

because it doesn't account for the fact 4k streams are of a much higher quality than 1080p streams therefore people can notice the difference on a 4k tv from much further away due to the higher quality streams being used.

example from 3m away on a 43" 4k tv you will see the difference in PQ when switching from a 1080p stream to a 4k stream.

also people have differing levels of eyesight, those with better than 20/20 vision will notice differences further away than those that are blind.

you also get the benefits of HDR, no 1080p can do HDR whereas 4K ones can. so yes the graph can be completely ignored.

easyrider · 10 Nov 2016 at 15:04

WYNIR0 said:
I was considering the same, but this video is worth a look 1st.I'll be waiting until my 8 year old Panasonic Plasma dies 1st.

Does he say you can play Skyrim at 4K on a GTX 970 at 4.50? lol

I have a 50" Panny Plasma The last model before they became EOL. And I have no urge to upgrade. Netflix "The Crown" looks stunning on it.

Deep Deep Blacks

For gaming I use a 2 K X34 100hz superwide monitor.

Craig R · 11 Nov 2016 at 11:22

Psycho Sonny said:
this graph is a load of tosh.

why?

because it doesn't account for the fact 4k streams are of a much higher quality than 1080p streams therefore people can notice the difference on a 4k tv from much further away due to the higher quality streams being used.

example from 3m away on a 43" 4k tv you will see the difference in PQ when switching from a 1080p stream to a 4k stream.

also people have differing levels of eyesight, those with better than 20/20 vision will notice differences further away than those that are blind.

you also get the benefits of HDR, no 1080p can do HDR whereas 4K ones can. so yes the graph can be completely ignored.

Sound, keep telling yourself that to justify your expensive 4k TV.

The internet is full of a/v sites giving similar advice to the chart above. They must all be wrong and you're right.