Eyesight and 4K 8K TVs

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › Eyesight and 4K 8K TVs

Jas777

840 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 111

#282731 8-Mar-2021 13:55

Got asked an interesting question about 4K 8K TVs

Basically, it was along the lines of if your eyesight is fading as you get older does a 4K or 8K TV make much difference in viewing, and is it worth the difference in price?

Of course, I understand you have to take the source material into account.

ShinyChrome

1603 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 686

ID Verified

Trusted

#2670112 8-Mar-2021 14:02

It's dependent on your distance to the screen x the screen size on whether you are able to resolve the extra detail of higher resolution, which will in turn be partially driven by your current level of sight.

The reality is that there is practically no 8k content as of yet, so why pay early-adopter money to watch upscaled HD/UHD? Manufacturers are only driving 8k as it is cheaper to drive mass-market adoption of more pixels on current technologies (LCD) than implement better technologies (self-emissive).

Edit: Here is the full rtings article that references the above chart

SirHumphreyAppleby

2938 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1860

#2670114 8-Mar-2021 14:04

Irrespective of your age, it doesn't make much difference going from 1080p to 2160p at normal viewing distances (4K/8K is marketing nonsense). That's not to say there isn't a reason to opt for '4K' televisions. They have HDR which (panel allowing) extends the range of colour and contrast.

Senecio

2851 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 3159

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#2670115 8-Mar-2021 14:07

I was an early adopter of 4K TVs. The improvements over 1080p Full HD were immediately obvious to me at my seating distance and screen size. I don't think I'll be as quick to adopt 8K. Unless I had a large room and wanted something larger than 85-100" I just don't think its worth it.

Edit: Just checked ShinyChrome's link above which seems to support my opinion.

RockCartel

19 posts

Geek
+1 received by user: 5

#2670136 8-Mar-2021 14:58

Recently got a new 4k OLED, was upgrading from a 10 year old plasma (was top of the range back then).

HDR sources look exceptional (4k or 1080p). If I had to pick one I'd take a 1080p HDR source over a 4k non-HDR source). I can't compare 4k or HDR on the old TV so there's no exact comparison.

HD content (even 720p) that I can play on the old TV looks a lot nicer on the new TV. The colours are deeper and the image looks shaper. I didn't realise it would be such an improvement in picture quality.

A high quality 4k TV is the sweet spot for me.