Buying a UHD capable TV

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peterds

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#151722 3-Sep-2014 06:32

I am about to buy a new TV. I was intending to go for a high-end 55 or 60inch Smart TV.
In view of the progress towards UHDTV in UK , Japan and Korea and considering Skys recent announcement in investing in extra bandwidth that will be UHDTV capable , is the time right to get a UHD capable TV?
I have heard that New Zealand and Australia have not yet established UHDTV standards so can I be sure that whatever TV I buy will work when ( if ?) UHD comes to NZ?
I realise that some streaming services will offer UHD .
Cheers.

Peter D Smale

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#1120969 3-Sep-2014 08:34

Not that I'm about to spend up on a UHD TV, but I hope there won't be a scenario like the introduction of HDTV.

I.e. The early adopters get sold TVs that are "HD ready", then later on the "Full HD" TVs come out.

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khull

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#1120980 3-Sep-2014 09:07

I'd say this time next year all TV's shipped will come with UHD as a standard feature for a fraction of the price they are selling today.

UHD standard Rec 2020 is defined for both 4k and 8k so yes if you buy a UHD tv today, it will almost certainly be 4k but in 12 months you might find UHD's being sold at 8k resolution

geekiegeek

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#1121024 3-Sep-2014 10:33

At the current price and unless you plan to sit right in front of it, I would go with the best 1080p TV over UHD.

Personally I wouldn't buy a UHD under 80" in size as I don't believe the difference is worth the premium on anything smaller then that.

Behodar

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#1121040 3-Sep-2014 11:09

Personally I wouldn't bother either; the majority of movies are still projected theatrically at 2k so there's no real "need" for 4k at this point.

In any case, the movie industry as a whole has shown a complete lack of care in providing 2k movies for home theatre owners so I can't help but feel that 4k will just be "lipstick on a pig" anyway.

bfginger

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#1121984 4-Sep-2014 16:28

Supporting 4k resolution doesn't automatically mean a television has a good picture. Many of the 4k televisions from brands other than Sony and Panasonic are otherwise poor televisions sold to the ignorant.

I have heard that New Zealand and Australia have not yet established UHDTV standards so can I be sure that whatever TV I buy will work when ( if ?) UHD comes to NZ?

It is unlikely there will ever be 4k broadcasts in NZ so 4k content will be delivered by the internet. To future proof a 4k television it needs support for HDMI 2 so you can hook an external box to it without frame dropping.

JimmyH

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#1122705 5-Sep-2014 18:28

Personally, particularly if you don't need to replace a TV urgently, I would hold fire. Based on previous trends, you are likely to do much better if you hold off for at least another year or so and:

- the technology will have matured a bit, and there will be more competition and better price points for higher quality units
- it will be clearer what price/options there will be for 4K source material
- it will become clearer whether 4K is really going to take off, or just be a bit of a niche fad like 3D

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mattbush

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#1122717 5-Sep-2014 19:14

peterds: I am about to buy a new TV. I was intending to go for a high-end 55 or 60inch Smart TV.
In view of the progress towards UHDTV in UK , Japan and Korea and considering Skys recent announcement in investing in extra bandwidth that will be UHDTV capable , is the time right to get a UHD capable TV?
I have heard that New Zealand and Australia have not yet established UHDTV standards so can I be sure that whatever TV I buy will work when ( if ?) UHD comes to NZ?
I realise that some streaming services will offer UHD .
Cheers.

Sky still only has a few channels in HD. If they do decide to go UHD it will cost an arm and a leg.....

turb

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#1122719 5-Sep-2014 19:19

A lot of the Sky HD stuff looks like crap. It may be 1080i, but the compression makes it look horrible. Very disappointing.

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Dunnersfella

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#1122726 5-Sep-2014 19:53

I would spend my money on a 55" OLED.
It's going to spank any UHD LED based TV I've laid eyes on to date...
Sadly, there's really only one option out there at the moment (LG) but it's pretty tempting!
I believe UHD TV's sold today will be fine playing UHD broadcast TV, as well as streaming UHD video for quite some time.
Would I buy a UHD OLED? If I could afford to, yes.

peterds

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#1122910 6-Sep-2014 08:37

What is a UHD OLED. Is it a brand or a PC system??? Forgive my ignorance!!!!!
Cheers.

Peter D Smale

peterds

106 posts

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#1122917 6-Sep-2014 08:46

Thanks to you all.
Do you support "bgingers" advice to buy a Sony or Panasonic UHDTV? The market leaders seem to be Samsung. I had already ruled out buying an LG.
Cheers

Peter D Smale

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B1GGLZ

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#1122925 6-Sep-2014 08:56

peterds: What is a UHD OLED. Is it a brand or a PC system??? Forgive my ignorance!!!!!
Cheers.

OLED = Organic Light Emitting Diode
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OLED

ilovemusic

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#1123023 6-Sep-2014 12:00

sharp have their "quattron pro" range.

these use their funky 4th pixel quattron screen, adding 4k capability to the native 1080p panel.

http://quattronpro.sharp.net.nz/

http://gizmodo.com/sharp-aquos-q-hdtv-review-not-4k-but-pretty-darn-clos-1589726376

the 60" is $5300nzd
http://www.sharp.net.nz/product-catalogue/products/LC60LE960X/

DarthKermit

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#1123066 6-Sep-2014 12:59

Do you have UFB installed? xDSL simply isn't fast enough to stream UHDTV properly.

Whatifthespacekeyhadneverbeeninvented?

bfginger

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#1123880 7-Sep-2014 21:43

Samsung are the market leaders at marketing. The curve and a troupe of gladiators doesn't make their top 4k model a good TV.

LG's OLED's picture reminds me of the last generation of Sony Trinitrons but the technology is still too immature and is vulnerable to burn in, uneven wear and colour shifts. They are releasing a 4k OLED soon but it will be very, very expensive.

The AX900 should be the top 4k LCD of this year when it's released in November.

4k Blu-ray is coming next year so it may be possible to access streaming services from the "smart" features of 4k Blu-ray players by 2016 if your TV doesn't have support.

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