Advice for new 4k Ultra HD TV

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Ortomator

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#169617 20-Mar-2015 13:05

Hi All,

In the market for a new 65" TV, seems the 4k models have come down in price quite a bit over the last few months.

There appears to be quite a difference between the operating systems on the different brands now, without spending a few days having a look it would be quite hard to make a choice in store, can anyone share the pros & cons?

I'ld be looking to use TVNZ on demand on the TV (there are apps for this right?), also use US Netflix (via AppleTV) so would be nice to use this directly, I know our older Sony TV in the bedroom showed the Netflix app once we were setup with UnblockUS, I'm not sure if this would be the case with the new TVs.

Have\had been looking at the Sony KD65X8500B, reviews suggest that the glossy screen is subject to reflections, our room is all windows so thats now out of the question, appears to be an older model too.

Thanks in advance for any input

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#1264035 20-Mar-2015 13:46

I believe TVNZ On Demand is only available on Samsung TV. I know this was the case previously.

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#1264039 20-Mar-2015 13:56

davidcole: I believe TVNZ On Demand is only available on Samsung TV. I know this was the case previously.

TVNZ on demand is in lo-res, and I doubt whether an UltraHD screen will make it look any better.

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davidcole

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#1264040 20-Mar-2015 13:57

Sideface:
davidcole: I believe TVNZ On Demand is only available on Samsung TV. I know this was the case previously.

TVNZ on demand is in lo-res, and I doubt whether an UltraHD screen will make it look any better.

Low res or not, the OP expressed an interest in it.

Ortomator

26 posts

Geek

#1264041 20-Mar-2015 14:01

davidcole: I believe TVNZ On Demand is only available on Samsung TV. I know this was the case previously.

Yeah thanks for that, a quick look on TVNZ on demand site says....

Supported devices:

Device type

Version

Apple iPhone 3G, 4, 4S, 5, 5C, 5S

iOs5 and above

Apple iPod Touch

iOs5 and above

Apple iPad 1, 2, 3, 4

iOs5 and above

Samsung Galaxy S3, S4

Android version 4.1 or above

Samsung Galaxy Note 2, Note 3, Note 10.1, Note 8.0

Android version 4.1 or above

Samsung Galaxy Tab 3

Android version 4.1 or above

Samsung 2011, 2012 and 2013 Smart TVs and selected models of Smart Blu-ray players and Smart Home Entertainment Systems

For a full list of specific models refer to the Samsung website

Talkiet

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#1264042 20-Mar-2015 14:02

My advice...

Not yet.

Not if you can avoid it... Just a few more months might help understanding the market for HDMI2.0 and seeing where that appears.

There is a horrible HDMI 1.4a hack at the moment that does 60FHz but uses a terrible colour encoding system (nearly unusable as a computer monitor), or only 30Hz for good modes.

If you don't need a TV now, I'd wait 6 more months.

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

mattwnz

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#1264044 20-Mar-2015 14:05

As per my experience with Sony smart tvs, don't ever buy a TV with smart features if you plan on relying on those services, as the features could be removed tomorrow. So you may buy a tv with say youtube or tvnz on demand built in, but it could cease to work in the near future if the manufacturer doesn't update the app to work with the latest API's

ilovemusic

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#1264081 20-Mar-2015 14:33

Talkiet: My advice...

Not yet.

Not if you can avoid it... Just a few more months might help understanding the market for HDMI2.0 and seeing where that appears.

There is a horrible HDMI 1.4a hack at the moment that does 60FHz but uses a terrible colour encoding system (nearly unusable as a computer monitor), or only 30Hz for good modes.

If you don't need a TV now, I'd wait 6 more months.

Cheers - N

double ditto.

there is a raft of new tech on the horizon - quantum dots, uhdbd, dolby hdr, h265, usb c blah blah blah - but now and you're likely to miss out.

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bazzer

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#1264090 20-Mar-2015 14:52

ilovemusic:
Talkiet: My advice...

Not yet.

Not if you can avoid it... Just a few more months might help understanding the market for HDMI2.0 and seeing where that appears.

There is a horrible HDMI 1.4a hack at the moment that does 60FHz but uses a terrible colour encoding system (nearly unusable as a computer monitor), or only 30Hz for good modes.

If you don't need a TV now, I'd wait 6 more months.

Cheers - N

double ditto.

there is a raft of new tech on the horizon - quantum dots, uhdbd, dolby hdr, h265, usb c blah blah blah - but now and you're likely to miss out.

But, isn't that always the case?

Talkiet

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#1264091 20-Mar-2015 14:54

bazzer:
ilovemusic:
Talkiet: My advice...

Not yet.

Not if you can avoid it... Just a few more months might help understanding the market for HDMI2.0 and seeing where that appears.

There is a horrible HDMI 1.4a hack at the moment that does 60FHz but uses a terrible colour encoding system (nearly unusable as a computer monitor), or only 30Hz for good modes.

If you don't need a TV now, I'd wait 6 more months.

Cheers - N

double ditto.

there is a raft of new tech on the horizon - quantum dots, uhdbd, dolby hdr, h265, usb c blah blah blah - but now and you're likely to miss out.

But, isn't that always the case?

Fair point, but there's (essentially) no 4k content available at the moment, so why jump early before there's a need. Now, if you need/want a new TV NOW (Your old one broke or was stolen) then it's a different story

But delay 4K purchase if you can.

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

Ortomator

26 posts

Geek

#1264161 20-Mar-2015 15:59

Talkiet: My advice...

Not yet.

Not if you can avoid it... Just a few more months might help understanding the market for HDMI2.0 and seeing where that appears.

There is a horrible HDMI 1.4a hack at the moment that does 60FHz but uses a terrible colour encoding system (nearly unusable as a computer monitor), or only 30Hz for good modes.

If you don't need a TV now, I'd wait 6 more months.

Cheers - N

Sounds like good advice, I'll keep that in mind, always tricky when buying technology to know when to wait, or if to wait!

I've read some of the HDMI2.0 implementations only support some of the feature sets

Dunnersfella

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#1264318 20-Mar-2015 20:54

Buy the TV that handles SD content the best. They will all look spot on for UHD material, but the up-scaler is the biggest point of difference from brand to brand, as far as I've observed.
There's never the 'right time' to buy new technology... buy too early and you pay too much / may not get the right spec. Buy too late and it'll be cheaper, but your TV might be behind the 8Ball.
If you're going for a flat panel, look at a 65" Panasonic, or a similar IPS panel from LG.
If you're looking for a curved screen TV, then, it's LG or Samsung only at this stage.

Oh and I second the poor quality of TVNZ on-demand on an UHD TV. It's seriously terrible.

JimmyH

2886 posts

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#1265255 22-Mar-2015 18:46

I bought a Samsung UHD TV (W7000 series) a few weeks ago, when my main set died and wasn't worth fixing.

The sound is mediocre to bad, and I'm not too interested in the UHD dimension (there's almost no source material at that resolution), or in the 3D capability (gimmick, and glasses were $80 a pair with none included).

I picked it for two reasons. The first is inputs (4xHDMI and 1 each of component and AV - unlike Pannys etc which have a stupid hybrid port that lets you have only either one or the other) - good for odd bits of legacy kit and I can then use switches if I need more. The second is picture, which has impressed the socks off me. SD material looks significantly better than my last telly, and 1080P is much, much better. UHD material, when available, should be jaw dropping.

So by all means buy one, they have a really good picture, and at under $1,500 (on sale) for the 50" model were pretty attractively priced too. Just make sure to pair them with a home theatre amp or a soundbar if you are planning on watching films, or you will be disappointed.

Ortomator

26 posts

Geek

#1265923 23-Mar-2015 15:22

Thanks for the comments\opinions. I've done a bit of researching and checking up on specs, seems a number of TVs do now have HDMI2.0 (at least on one port), the other things to check on seem to be HDCP 2.2 (content protection standard) and HEVC.265.

From having a look in some shops its obvious that 1080 content looks better on a 4k panel. I'm not desperate for a new TV, I've been hanging on for the last 6 months and had decided to hold off getting a 1080 TV in favour of a 4k one.

Sound isn't an issue on the new TV, I've never used the speakers on the current one, it always goes through the HT system.

Panasonic isn't really a brand I've considered in the past, a reasonable deal on at Harvey Norman today for the TH-65AX800Z which seems to tick the boxes of HDMI\HDCP\HEVC, if I was going to be watching the cricket at home on Sunday I might be tempting to get it, but I'm not!

Ortomator

26 posts

Geek

#1265933 23-Mar-2015 15:33

Also just looking at LG 65UB930T, similar price to the Panasonic ($3500ish) it has the HDMI2.0, HEVC HDCP2.2 covered. I did like the magic remote when looking at these in the store, wasn't quite sure of the LG brand though, anyone have experience with these?

testha

116 posts

Master Geek

#1265950 23-Mar-2015 15:58

Talkiet:
Fair point, but there's (essentially) no 4k content available at the moment, so why jump early before there's a need. Now, if you need/want a new TV NOW (Your old one broke or was stolen) then it's a different story

But delay 4K purchase if you can.

Cheers - N

I dont understand these comments about 4k content. Almost every modern video recording device that comes out now supports creating 4k content. It doesnt matter if it is the latest smart phones (LG G3, Samsung Galaxy line, Sony Z2&3, Nexus 6) or cameras (Pana GH4, Olympus OMD M5, Sony A7, GoPro) . There a lot of affordable options for enthusiast content creators, there will be a lot of content soon.

Plus we now have Netflix with 4k streaming and Youtube with an option to enable 4k content. With Sony and Netflix you have 2 major players creating and pushing 4k.

My biggest issue with 4k right now is my internet speed at home isnt good enough for downloading 4k content yet. But UFB may help soon ;p

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