[Article] Buying a 4K TV: What you need to know about HDCP 2.2, HDMI 2.1, HEVC & UHD

petetherock

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Although there is a claimed update in Nov 2014, the article was first written in Jan 2013 when it would have been much truer. Things have moved along since. By Christmas this year, i expect to see 4k blurays and bluray players on sale. The number of Youtube, Amazon, Netflicks 4k titles are increasing each day. And HDR is already making an appearance in the top-end tv models and will soon filter down. All in all, within the next 6-9 months, i believe the 4k proposition will be much more attractive

Yes new material in 4k is indeed on the way. The question remains as to whether members here will pay for it.
For example who will pay for a 4k Blu ray ? Or will people just watch the same 4k you tube with no surround sound. We have members here who won't pay for a proper antenna for free to air HD tv. I don't think they will pay for 4k sources...
4k is exciting, just be prepared for the price premium.
 

trueimage

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Yes new material in 4k is indeed on the way. The question remains as to whether members here will pay for it.
For example who will pay for a 4k Blu ray ? Or will people just watch the same 4k you tube with no surround sound. We have members here who won't pay for a proper antenna for free to air HD tv. I don't think they will pay for 4k sources...
4k is exciting, just be prepared for the price premium.

Yup, like anything new, initially it will be expensive. May take a yr or so for prices of 4k material to fall but a tv lasts for many years
 

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trueimage

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The wheels of technology never stop rolling, after HDR there would be something, possibly now under R & D, even more exciting. It's a matter of at what price point one is willing to pay for it.

Of course that's an often-stated argument which is true. But if you are buying a tv that is going to last 10 years and you know that something is coming in just 6 months that will make yr tv less capable or desirable would you buy now?

If nothing has been announced then fair. I am not talking about future technologies that are still in the R&D labs. HDR tvs are already making their appearance and media companies have already announced their support.

The fact is, the current implementation of 4k does not take advantage of all the features and capabilities set out in the standard. Manufacturers are always keen to rush out products and then later adding bits of improvements to push more sales. Look at the initial 4k products (TVs, AVamps etc) that initially came out without HDCP 2.2 and some without even HDMI 2.0! People who bought those products must be pretty upset. There is a time to wait and there is a time to buy.

Of course, if your current tv has died then there's no question. But if yr existing tv is still in gd condition, then u should do yr research and make yr decision knowing the facts

It's similar to the PC scene. Would you buy a Haswell system today (if you didn't desperately need a new system) knowing that both Broadwell and Skylake is just months away? Plus knowing that Skylake will handle 4k video natively way better than Haswell
 
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petetherock

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There's always something new out there.
But 4k is still in it's infancy. And this thread serves to add a balanced view so we avoid being seduced by the marketing.
It's an interesting thing when people watch SD quality TV on a 4k screen and complain about the quality..
It also does not make sense if people don't buy Blu Ray HD discs because they feel they are expensive and yet invest in a 4k TV.
Garbage in, garbage out.
 

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If you jump into future technology. This means you would also pay more. OLED is one good technology. But it was S $14999 just some 18 months back. Today you can get it at less then 5k at most important, more feature and faster CPU.

Guess unless your current TV go west and needed one immediately. Else wait a while will always bring you a better and cheaper one.
 

trueimage

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If you jump into future technology. This means you would also pay more. OLED is one good technology. But it was S $14999 just some 18 months back. Today you can get it at less then 5k at most important, more feature and faster CPU.

Guess unless your current TV go west and needed one immediately. Else wait a while will always bring you a better and cheaper one.

I prefer a FHD oled over a 4K non-oled anyday
 

HWZ Editorial

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[Article] Buying a 4K TV: What you need to know about HDCP 2.2, HDMI 2.0, HEVC & UHD

Is buying a 4K TV as simple as ensuring that it has a 4K resolution? Not quite, especially if you want your multi-thousand-dollar investment to last as long as possible. In this article, we decode the TV jargon most consumers face today.

View full story here...
 

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petetherock

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I am an early adopter of technology normally, but I am concerned that bros here are touting the features of a 4k TV and thinking that buying into this will definitely give better picture quality.

The reality can be far from this.

As previously mentioned, your viewing distance matters. If one buys any 4k TV < 50", that means one will need to sit less than 2m, or less than one body length from the TV. You can't use the rule of thumb for HD sets, or you won't be able to enjoy the real benefit of 4k.

Another important concept is: garbage in, garbage out. If one buys a 4k TV to view SD pictures, it's going to look nasty.
Even if you use full HD, it may not be that good depending on the quality of the video chip used for upscaling.

Most members here don't even buy Blu Ray discs, and if you only watch 'HD' youtube or 4k youtube videos, then that 4k TV will be wasted.

It will be better to get a good full HD TV.

Don't fall prey to marketing speak!
 

Henry Ng

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not enough content for 4k.
nearly wanted to buy samsung 4k last week, with free wireless keyboard n vouchers thrown-in but didnt buy
Such saying is not correct if you are getting LG. For LG they have free 4K content and LG has Netflix app and with the help of a VPN service you can watch 4k content with Netflix.
 

SGJoe86

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Those that are interested in testing 4K videos on their TVs can go to this weblink http://demo-uhd3d.com
Compared to Youtube 4K which came with compression, this link allows you to download full 4K videos without any compression, but the file size can be BIG. There is no full movies on it, so nothing illegal. Mainly contain demo videos that you normally see at electronic stores, plus some short clips :)
 

Henabi

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invited by petetherock to share my experience of buying TV

1) Bring your own demos
Bring along your favourite Full 1080p HD videos or your fav 4K netflix video, about 5 minutes duration will do, in a flash drive
preferably videos which has colourful scenes, dark/black scenes and white scenes, fast moving actions scenes.

2) Viewing Distance & Viewing Height
stand in front of the tv at the estimated distance away from the TV. The distance simulate your living room's viewing distance.
View it from the height of you sitting down, usually at sofa height or chair height.

3) Choose the right TV together with your wife/husband.
This is SUPER important. because both of you will spend many hours watching the same tv. Its important that both of you are comfortable viewing it.

4) How many HDMI ports you need.
Cheaper LED TVs will usually have 1-2 HDMI ports. More expensive ones will have 3 to 5 HDMI ports. If you have many devices which need HDMI connections, then you might wanna consider getting a TV with more HDMI ports OR get a AV HDMI Amplifier
Also... I NEVER understand why some TV gives you 5 USB ports but only 2 HDMI ports

5) Energy Saving.
The number of "ticks" [more ticks. more saving. more expensive]

6) "Smart TV" or "Dumb TV"
You can access 1 million & 1 things if you HDMI your laptop or MiniPC or android TV box (mini-x / xiaomi tv, Apple TV) to your TV

7) DO NOT get distracted by the Salesman.
They are gonna be blabbering none stop, follow you around and trying to throw you tonnes of technical terms or "gimmick terms".
Judge with your eyes...

8) Switch and play around with the various colour mode.
From Normal to Movie to Sports to custom... This is also to test the TV and see if there's any "pixel bleeding" or "colour bleeding"

AND... which is why NO TV reseller will show really show Dark colour videos. Most of them will show colourful videos

9) Digital TV Sticker
Make sure the TV is Digital TV ready or has built-in DVB. You don't wanna spend extra money to get a separate DVB setup box

10) Viewing Angle
This is to check for a few things
  1. Will the video or image becomes "washed out" if you are viewing from the sides? Some TVs have very narrow viewing angles. This is largely due to the quality of the LCD LED glass screens they are using.
  2. Check for light reflection off the screen
And why is this important? When you invite friends, relatives and people over to your house, only 3-4 people can sit directly infront of the TV. The rest of them will sit slated facing the TV.

I'm sure You don't wanna be hearing comments like: "Why your TV picture so lousy one ah?" or "Why the light reflection of your TV screen so jia lat one ah?"Especially when you spent a few Ks on this TV.

11) Remember to test EVERY SINGLE FEATURE of the TV.
You are paying for it. Test it.
DO NOT get distracted by the Salesman.

12) 3D or Non-3D
You be the Judge

13) 4K or non-4K
As pricing for 4K TV continues to fall almost every week.
With your own eyes, start judging every single TV which falls within the Size range and Price range.

And of course, before you go down. Remember to do your home work first and understand all the technical & fancy terms such as:
- UHD
- ULTRA UHD
- 4K X-Reality Pro
- 4K 800Hz BMR refresh Rate
- True Black
- Deep Black
- Peak Illuminator
- precision Black
- Prefect Black, Prefect White
- OLED
- LCD LED (LED Backlight)
- YELLOW
- High Dynamic Range (HDR)
- TV refresh rate in Hz. What it means and what it does? Do TV really refresh THAT fast?
 

nethdale

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Something useful to read before you buy that 4k TV:
http://hometheaterhifi.com/technical/technical-reviews/ultra-hd-yet/

It's not as great a leap of picture quality to go from FHD to UHD, as was moving from SD to FHD.

Hi,

Morning, read your insightful thread on TVs and in your opinion, which 65" TV currently supports well with PS4 PRO? Does a TV really need to be 10-bit HDR? To my limited knowledge and based on advertisement, it looks like only LG OLED offers 10-bit HDR? Worth considering? Pls advise as my current 9 years old Plasma is coming to the end of its life cycle. Thanks in advance.
 

petetherock

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Re HDR
IMO, HDR is something one should consider for future proofing.
We only change a TV after a few years, and if you have a 4k source, this will be something to consider.
The LG OLED TVs have really good picture quality, but I haven't seen the other brands' offerings recent.
Choose with your wallet and eyes.
Cheers
 
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