New 4K TV

Psycho Sonny · 26 May 2015 at 23:11

why are you so eager to replace them?

if it's simply for the fact you think they are too small then you have 2 options, projector or bigger tv.

if you want similar quality then your going to have to fork out many thousands because the reality is LCD isn't in the same league as plasma no matter what you may think. OLED is though.

just buy a bigger screen that's decent and have it calibrated and be done with it.

truth is though you don't have a clue what your looking at. none of the tv's you have seen in the store will have been calibrated.a lot of them will be running different settings. you cannot compare a tv running THX cinema to another running dynamic for example. you also cannot compare your tv to one in store. both will be using different quality of content, different lighting, different settings, etc.

to compare tv's directly they need to be side by side calibrated and running the same content. otherwise it's not a fair comparison.

it's pretty easy to pick a tv. name your max budget. go to hdtvtest, set a few filters and a few tv's will pop up. order one then run it in then book a calibrator to come round and get it as close to reference as possible.

then you will truly see the quality of the panel.

wildest_jjk · 27 May 2015 at 21:56

I've just been reading about this TV: PANASONIC VIERA TX48AX630B.

Apparently it doesn't support HEVC so cannot playing 4K content from something like Netflix. Is this true?

Mal X · 27 May 2015 at 22:17

i've seen one for sale :cool:

Panasonic 65 inch Plasma TX-P65VT50B, but i'm going away on holiday this weelend so i've got to move quick...........does £1500 sound ok

Psycho Sonny · 27 May 2015 at 22:37

Why are you asking us? Your the expert. You even valued my tv for me without me asking.

If that's the tv you want and your happy with that price then buy it. If not then don't. Simple as that really.

oHUTCHYo · 28 May 2015 at 08:44

Mal X said:
i've seen one for sale

Panasonic 65 inch Plasma TX-P65VT50B, but i'm going away on holiday this weelend so i've got to move quick...........does £1500 sound ok

Psycho Sonny said:
Why are you asking us? Your the expert. You even valued my tv for me without me asking.

If that's the tv you want and your happy with that price then buy it. If not then don't. Simple as that really.

You two having your little spat is actually making me start to see sense. I'm still pretty much dead set on blowing £2700 on the incoming Sony X85C, but the TX-P65VT50B is beginning to look rather attractive. Is this model effectively the last of the great plasmas? If so, am I limited to secondhand only now or is there some brand new ones hidden away at certain retailers? I currently have a Panasonic 50" G20, I'm presuming the VT50 would be a significant upgrade?

If £1500 is new, then I'm interested. If it's for used then that is mental money for a second hand screen.

Mal X · 28 May 2015 at 11:04

it's £1500 2nd hand :eek:

because you wont find it new anymore and deffo not for that price. the ZT and VT are the best plasmas, but they're not much better than mine

it's either a panny like this, the Sony 1080p, or a similar Panny on ebay in a weeks time (going on holiday).

you find a big panny plasma on ebay about once a week, but this one seems a bit expensive.

http://pricespy.co.uk/product.php?p=3048300
this is the one i'm watching or the 65'' version, because last years model gets a brilliant review, i think i need to see this before buying another PLASMA, because it could look far better than i realise.

i thought buying a new tv would be easy, but i'm getting myself in a right mess

EddScott · 28 May 2015 at 11:41

Psycho Sonny said:
My next purchase is going to be a calibration got a quote for my gt50 @£350. Will soon have a perfect TV.

Without going too far off topic - is calibration really worth £350? Would the post calibrated picture be "that" different?

Feels a bit like being charged £500 to have your car mapped - never quite sure sitting in the car for half an hour with a laptop really justifies the cost

Steedie · 28 May 2015 at 11:46

I'd be interested to know if it's worth it too. I've always been interested in doing it but thought that the difference can't be THAT big to be worth the cost

oHUTCHYo · 28 May 2015 at 11:48

EddScott said:
Without going too far off topic - is calibration really worth £350? Would the post calibrated picture be "that" different?

Feels a bit like being charged £500 to have your car mapped - never quite sure sitting in the car for half an hour with a laptop really justifies the cost

Steedie said:
I'd be interested to know if it's worth it too. I've always been interested in doing it but thought that the difference can't be THAT big to be worth the cost

I had the same thought but also see that some people swear by it. I guess it's like a lot of things, you have cowboys who tell themselves they can calibrate and then there's the real calibrators.

It must be hard to find someone who is good as any idiot can sit on your couch with your remote for an hour. I'd be gutted spending £350 and the image then not being to my particular taste. So subjective.

MOOGLEYS · 28 May 2015 at 11:54

For the average user who wants a decent pic on all source types then no it's not worth it. You can get pretty good results tweaking the settings yourself and everyone likes things different. A TV can look different at different times of the day, lighting, source material etc etc....

Some people like to have things as close to what the reference material was so spend a fortune having a TV setup and then ruin it by having a light on or curtains open or something.

Unless you have a room where the conditions are always a constant I.e. A cinema then paying hundreds for a calibration is a little pointless.

That's my opinion anyway I'm sure others will disagree...

Psycho Sonny · 28 May 2015 at 13:17

The calibrator usually saves 2 settings on your TV a day setting and a night setting to account for different times of the day (lighting).

It's not a 5 minute job it will take a couple of hours I imagine to calibrate if not more properly.

How much does a car garage charge you in labour £70 an hour if not more?

Whether it's worth it or not depends on how much you spent on your TV and how good your TV is and how much of an enthusiast you are.

To me it will be worth it, to you it may not.

If you have a tv worth £1500+ and it's very highly reviewed then IMO you should get it calibrated.

It is a bit like custom mapping a car. Lot's of people on here re-map their cars and nobody objects to it so I don't see why people are so against calibrating a TV.

I will be keeping my GT50 until it dies. £350 to get it perfect for it's life which should be at least another 8 years (2 years old). Its nothing it's like 10p per day over the life of the tv. For that extra 10p I will get a bang on reference picture. I spend £7 on lunch sometimes at work. What is 10p?

ZXSpectrum · 28 May 2015 at 13:32

isn't buying a 4K TV at the moment pointless? Basically i was reading that 4K Blu Rays are going to use HDCP 2.2 and will require a handshake between the player and tv. As far as i am aware there isn't a set that currently has HDCP 2.2 and players will not be able to play 4K Content without it leaving you with it only being able to play 4K Upscaled sources. There "may" be a way to update it with a firmware but may not be possible.

Steedie · 28 May 2015 at 13:54

Do you mean TV's not having HDCP 2.2? As if so there are a number of TV's with HDCP 2.2

oHUTCHYo · 28 May 2015 at 14:00

The new Sony Bravias have HDCP 2.2 - though only thought to check after you mentioned it, so kudos

oHUTCHYo · 28 May 2015 at 14:01

Psycho Sonny said:
It is a bit like custom mapping a car. Lot's of people on here re-map their cars and nobody objects to it so I don't see why people are so against calibrating a TV.

I will be keeping my GT50 until it dies. £350 to get it perfect for it's life which should be at least another 8 years (2 years old). Its nothing it's like 10p per day over the life of the tv. For that extra 10p I will get a bang on reference picture. I spend £7 on lunch sometimes at work. What is 10p?

It's a very good analogy and thought process.

I use the same process to convince the missus on spending money on a good TV. It's the same principle as mattresses, shoes etc. too. Why skimp on something that you use everyday

kona786 · 28 May 2015 at 14:52

Psycho Sonny said:
The truth is though there is only one lcd that compares to my gt50 and it costs £6k.

Is your GT50 much better than a PZ85? In blacks, colour and motion? Because I don't think it is.

I went from a PZ85 to a Samsung F8000 and the difference in PQ was negligible. And the F8000 goes much brighter when the need arises. With the bonus being that the Samsung was aesthetically (in design) a much better looking set with more features and used far less power.

Good LCD sets have a great picture these days, gone are the days when Plasma had a massive advantage. I was all for plasma when they were in production, but now I'd rather have a new LCD set than an old plasma.

Roll on when the OLED's are ready for Prime time.

Psycho Sonny · 28 May 2015 at 15:07

kona786 said:
Is your GT50 much better than a PZ85? In blacks, colour and motion? Because I don't think it is.

I went from a PZ85 to a Samsung F8000 and the difference in PQ was negligible. And the F8000 goes much brighter when the need arises. With the bonus being that the Samsung was aesthetically (in design) a much better looking set with more features and used far less power.

Good LCD sets have a great picture these days, gone are the days when Plasma had a massive advantage. I was all for plasma when they were in production, but now I'd rather have a new LCD set than an old plasma.

Roll on when the OLED's are ready for Prime time.

I think you missed the word LCD in my post?

The only panasonic plasma's better than my GT50 are the VT50, GT60, VT65 and ZT65.

The VT50 and GT60 use the same panel as my GT50. Both are only slightly better as well most wouldn't be able to tell the difference. The VT65 and ZT65 are noticeably better but they also cost 2-4 times as much.

I paid £799 for my GT50 brand new. It's all relative.

MOOGLEYS · 28 May 2015 at 15:15

The ZT I had was by far the best all round screen I have seen. Visually I would say a modern LCD can look as good but the way the ZT handled motion I have not seen on anything else tbh. Shame it did not last very long as I would still have it and would not be replacing it for a long time.

Mal X · 28 May 2015 at 15:15

ZXSpectrum said:
isn't buying a 4K TV at the moment pointless? Basically i was reading that 4K Blu Rays are going to use HDCP 2.2 and will require a handshake between the player and tv. As far as i am aware there isn't a set that currently has HDCP 2.2 and players will not be able to play 4K Content without it leaving you with it only being able to play 4K Upscaled sources. There "may" be a way to update it with a firmware but may not be possible.

i havent heard that :eek:

i'll check that in a minute

but yes 4k is probably pointless anyway, because you wont get enough films released on Blu Ray at launch day, to keep you entertained for more than two weeks and at say £15 each, that's also a lot of money...20 films = £300 WTF :eek:

normal tv is upscaled to 4k, so it'll look worst on a 65'' 4k than it will on a SONY 1080P of the same size............but ``full`` 1080p Blu ray upscaled already looks good, so that might be the best way to go for some people, much cheaper too.

i quote:-

``What that means for you is that you'll need an HDCP 2.2 4K TV in order to use any HDCP 2.2-enabled device. If your 4K TV isn't on version 2.2, you'll need to buy a new 4K TV in order to use it with the latest home entertainment devices (like the latest HDCP 2.2 Ultra HD Blu-ray players).

Cut to the chase
What is it? HDCP is content protection software that runs on TVs, receivers, gaming systems and video cards that stops users from stealing content
When is it out? HDCP 2.1 is the staple on most devices, but HDCP 2.2 is quickly becoming the new standard
Why is it bad? Older TVs with HDCP 2.1 may inadvertently block 4K signal from HDCP 2.2 devices like Blu-ray players, stereo receivers, soundbars and game consoles``

so you will need to check that any 4k you buy has HDCP 2.2, but it should be on all recent top end LEDs anyway.................i hope my Titan X has it.

finally to sum up :- it looks like 4k tv is only good for watching 4k films and 1080p blu ray only, but will look much worst than what you have right now if you watch a lot of normal tv !!!!

kona786 · 28 May 2015 at 15:17

Psycho Sonny said:
I think you missed the word LCD in my post?

The only panasonic plasma's better than my GT50 are the VT50, GT60, VT65 and ZT65.

The VT50 and GT60 use the same panel as my GT50. Both are only slightly better as well most wouldn't be able to tell the difference. The VT65 and ZT65 are noticeably better but they also cost 2-4 times as much.

I paid £799 for my GT50 brand new. It's all relative.

Did you even read my post?

First I was comparing your GT50 to a PZ85. Then a PZ85 to a F8000.

How much better is your GT50 to a PZ85?