How Well Do Late-Model 4K TVs Upscale Signals

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eracode

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#237580 8-Jun-2018 15:02

We are planning to buy a 2018 model OLED TV within the next month or two - LG or Sony.

I’m interested to know how well these tellies upscale ordinary broadcast signals from the FTA channels and Sky - i.e SD and 1080p. There’s a lot of info and comment on the internet about this but it’s non-specific and does not necessarily relate to NZ conditions.

I’m keen to hear from people who actually own and use late-model 4K TVs under real, on-the-ground Kiwi conditions.

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stocksp

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#2032206 8-Jun-2018 15:19

I’ve got a 65 inch LG C7 OLED from last year. Love it.

Upscale reallly well, and actually I have difficulty telling 4K content from 1080p - FTA tv looks good.

I really like the LG interface too, and it has Dolby vision built in. I hear the Sony android implementation can be a bit hit and miss

grimwulf

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#2032212 8-Jun-2018 15:39

I own an 65" LG C7 4K OLED.

The upscaling is in general excellent but you have to consider both the source content and whether the TV is upscaling or some other hardware in your stack. To give a few examples:-

freeview content - excellent - I have a modded Tivo but it basically just acts as a freeview box - the 1080i picture is excellent - don't really notice any blurring
regular old SD DVDs - I recently was in the mood to watch a few Bond movies and pulled out my DVD remasters - they were upscaled superbly well - although that was mostly being done by my dvd player - but the big hit was the contrast provided by OLED
standard SD/HD XVid files streamed across my network are as you'd expect a hit or miss affair - comes down to the encoding and the source they were taken from, but very watchable
Blurays - for the most part are fantastic - to the point that I only buy very specific 4K movies either because they're favourites or the reviews of the 4K transfers are amazing.

If you could describe your stack and give us some examples of the type of content you'd be looking to upscale I can give you an opinion ;)

eracode

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#2032299 8-Jun-2018 18:16

Thanks Guys - appreciate the answers.

No ‘stack’ as such associated with this TV - will be mainly used for watching FTA and Sky and streaming Netflix, Lightbox etc - per my OP query.

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Batman

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#2032311 8-Jun-2018 19:00

SD resolution is watchable. Full HD looks almost like 4K.

Senecio

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#2032325 8-Jun-2018 19:40

Cheap 4K TVs generally don't upscale well. For the models you're looking you'll be fine. My 2016 Panasonic CX 802B (to of the line at the time) upscales extremely well. Even SD content looks better on this TV than it did on a native 1080P panel. A good quality Full HD signal is difficult to distinguish from native 4K.

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#2032327 8-Jun-2018 19:53

Senecio: Cheap 4K TVs generally don't upscale well. For the models you're looking you'll be fine. My 2016 Panasonic CX 802B (to of the line at the time) upscales extremely well. Even SD content looks better on this TV than it did on a native 1080P panel. A good quality Full HD signal is difficult to distinguish from native 4K.

depends on size of screen, distance from screen, and visual acuity :)

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eracode

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#2032410 9-Jun-2018 04:12

Pretty encouraging overall then - thanks all.

Having obtained capex approval from the Comptmistress General, I guess we were always going to get one anyway - but the above info makes it all the more exciting. Expecting the main bonus to be 4K streaming and with the upscaling to be the cherry on the top.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.