GRcade

Ad7 wrote:

Hime wrote:Have any of you compared an HD stream to a UHD Blu Ray? I feel like I should be buying UHD Blu Rays as I have all the kit but I've fully embrassed the digital only lifestyle.

Not a.direct comparison, but imo there's no substitute for the uhd bluray. Was watching some more planet earth 2 (The jungles episode) and it was strawberry floating he dropping

Damn. It's quite an investment for something you might not even like or use again.

Mad max fury road on 4K.
Absolutely jaw droppingly good.
Stunning quality.

Question...

Is it worth dipping into 4K HD at this moment of time? I tend to keep my tv's for quite a while. Pretty happy with my current 50" panasonic that is around 5 years old. Got it for a bargain £600 quid.

Wondering whether to hold out for whatever comes after 4K as it seems times have changed from days gone by when tv standards were pretty much the same for years upon years.

Is anything over 4K really going to be noticeable in an average sized room though? My 49" TV has roughly 44 pixels per inch or about 2 per mm at that resolution.

souljahsstory wrote:Question...

Is it worth dipping into 4K HD at this moment of time? I tend to keep my tv's for quite a while. Pretty happy with my current 50" panasonic that is around 5 years old. Got it for a bargain £600 quid.

Wondering whether to hold out for whatever comes after 4K as it seems times have changed from days gone by when tv standards were pretty much the same for years upon years.

If you want a new TV then the time to buy is now. Waiting for the next thing will just mean you never actually buy anything.

After 4K, I guess 8K will come along, but that’s only really going to be worthwhile on HUGE screens. No normal person is going to have that in their homes, it will be used in pubs, clubs and Ad7’s house.

If you get a decent spec 4K TV (HDR and all that) then it should last you for years to come.

Right, bit pissed off. This seems as good a place as any to ask for advice/input. I'll keep it as brief as possible.

I previously had all my inputs going into my amp, and then a single hdmi line to the TV. When i got new TV, I discovered that my amp didn't support HDR passthrough, so I started to use the ARC instead. Now all my stuff (PS4, Switch, Sky Q Box) go into the TV, and the audio is passed down an HDMI to the amp.

I've not really watched much serious stuff since I got the TV, though, so hadn't paid much attention to what the amp was doing.

Discovered whilst re-watching Rogue One that it was only giving me a Dolby Pro-Logic II output. Spent ages messing on with it, and couldn't get a Dolby True HD/DTS HD sound.

Only then did I find out that ARC doesn't support any true 5.1 signal. What a load of bullshit.

Thing is, the ARC is so simple to use - the amp just switches on, my wife doesn't have to mess on with changing inputs, etc.


tl;dr - I want to attempt to run my PS4 signal through a splitter, so it hits the amp and the TV simultaneously. I would use the ARC for most purposes, but switch to the direct HDMI feed when watching BluRays.

Anybody know if this would work?!

Moggy wrote:

souljahsstory wrote:Question...

Is it worth dipping into 4K HD at this moment of time? I tend to keep my tv's for quite a while. Pretty happy with my current 50" panasonic that is around 5 years old. Got it for a bargain £600 quid.

Wondering whether to hold out for whatever comes after 4K as it seems times have changed from days gone by when tv standards were pretty much the same for years upon years.

If you want a new TV then the time to buy is now. Waiting for the next thing will just mean you never actually buy anything.

After 4K, I guess 8K will come along, but that’s only really going to be worthwhile on HUGE screens. No normal person is going to have that in their homes, it will be used in pubs, clubs and Ad7’s house.

If you get a decent spec 4K TV (HDR and all that) then it should last you for years to come.

Any advice on what to look for in terms of a decent spec 4K TV? I've got £1000-£1500 to play with.

souljahsstory wrote:

Moggy wrote:

souljahsstory wrote:Question...

Is it worth dipping into 4K HD at this moment of time? I tend to keep my tv's for quite a while. Pretty happy with my current 50" panasonic that is around 5 years old. Got it for a bargain £600 quid.

Wondering whether to hold out for whatever comes after 4K as it seems times have changed from days gone by when tv standards were pretty much the same for years upon years.

If you want a new TV then the time to buy is now. Waiting for the next thing will just mean you never actually buy anything.

After 4K, I guess 8K will come along, but that’s only really going to be worthwhile on HUGE screens. No normal person is going to have that in their homes, it will be used in pubs, clubs and Ad7’s house.

If you get a decent spec 4K TV (HDR and all that) then it should last you for years to come.

Any advice on what to look for in terms of a decent spec 4K TV? I've got £1000-£1500 to play with.

In all seriousness, any Samsung or LG set that costs anything in that price range is basically going to be very good. Bear in mind the new sets will be coming out in a couple of months, and a lot of the TV retailers do special offer in the build-up to the World Cup (June), so May might be an excellent time to be buying.

souljahsstory wrote:

Moggy wrote:

souljahsstory wrote:Question...

Is it worth dipping into 4K HD at this moment of time? I tend to keep my tv's for quite a while. Pretty happy with my current 50" panasonic that is around 5 years old. Got it for a bargain £600 quid.

Wondering whether to hold out for whatever comes after 4K as it seems times have changed from days gone by when tv standards were pretty much the same for years upon years.

If you want a new TV then the time to buy is now. Waiting for the next thing will just mean you never actually buy anything.

After 4K, I guess 8K will come along, but that’s only really going to be worthwhile on HUGE screens. No normal person is going to have that in their homes, it will be used in pubs, clubs and Ad7’s house.

If you get a decent spec 4K TV (HDR and all that) then it should last you for years to come.

Any advice on what to look for in terms of a decent spec 4K TV? I've got £1000-£1500 to play with.

I am not fully up to date on what is the best on the market at the moment. I am sure other people here can fill you in, but I would look around a few review websites and try and get a feel for what has reviewed well in that price bracket and then search around for user reviews of the models you like the look of. For your price range, I would imagine you’ll get a stunning TV that’ll do everything that you want.

Basically, just avoid buying a £150 Polaroid set from Asda on Black Friday.

souljahsstory wrote:Any advice on what to look for in terms of a decent spec 4K TV? I've got £1000-£1500 to play with.

For that kind of money I'd either go for the Sony XE93 or either of the cheapest LG OLEDs. Both last years TVs but should still be available and nothing wrong with either.

If you are looking for longevity, you may be slightly put off by the OLED.

Wouldn't go for any of last years Samsung TVs, not sure how the new ones are going to fair.

HSH28 wrote:

souljahsstory wrote:Any advice on what to look for in terms of a decent spec 4K TV? I've got £1000-£1500 to play with.

For that kind of money I'd either go for the Sony XE93 or either of the cheapest LG OLEDs. Both last years TVs but should still be available and nothing wrong with either.

If you are looking for longevity, you may be slightly put off by the OLED.

Wouldn't go for any of last years Samsung TVs, not sure how the new ones are going to fair.

Cheers guys. Is that kind of budget decent? Or should i just save up some more and go all out? No idea on what i'm paying for in terms of ability or quality. At that range? If i can get something cheaper that's pretty epic. I'm up for that too.

The 2018 League Tables - Rtings.com wrote:

BEST OVERALL 4K TELEVISION 2018 (Samsung, Sony and LG tested)

- Sony's flagship OLED for 2018, the A1, is the same as 2017.

LG C8 OLED: 8.8/10
Sony A1 OLED: 8.7/10
Sony X900F/F9005 LED: 8.3/10
Samsung NU8000 LED: 7.9/10
LG SK9000/SK8500 LED: 7.9/10
Sony X850F/XF85 and XF87 LED: 7.6/10

BEST RESPONSE TIMES FOR GAMING (4K takes precedence in this table)

Samsung NU8000 LED: 1080p @ 60Hz: 18.1ms; 4k @ 60Hz + HDR: 18.4ms
LG SK9000/SK8500 LED: 1080p @ 60Hz: 15.7ms; 4K @ 60Hz + HDR (High Dynamic Range): 23.6ms
Sony X900F/F9005 LED: 1080p @ 60Hz: 40ms; 4K @ 60Hz + HDR: 24.2ms
LG C8 OLED: 1080p @ 60Hz: 21.1ms; 4K @ 60Hz + HDR: 29.4ms
Sony X850F LED: 1080p @ 60Hz: 27.9ms; 4K @ 60Hz + HDR: 30.1ms
Sony A1 OLED: 1080p @ 60Hz: 47.4ms; 4K @ 60Hz + HDR: 30.7ms

Also on the front page and will be updated as and when new sets are released and reviewed.

I suppose it all depends on where the TV broadcasters and DVD's decide to go.
I suspect they will opt for 4K meaning the transition will take about 5 years just for that so that pushes any 8K talk into about 2030.

I have a feeling 4K will be the mainstream for the next decade with only a tiny percentage of streaming content being available in 8K and I can't see 8K gaming on consoles until the PS6 era just because of the power needed to play 8k games at an acceptable level.

KK wrote:

The 2018 League Tables - Rtings.com wrote:

BEST OVERALL 4K TELEVISION 2018 (Samsung, Sony and LG tested)

- Sony's flagship OLED for 2018, the A1, is the same as 2017.

LG C8 OLED: 8.8/10
Sony A1 OLED: 8.7/10
Sony X900F/F9005 LED: 8.3/10
Samsung NU8000 LED: 7.9/10
LG SK9000/SK8500 LED: 7.9/10
Sony X850F/XF85 and XF87 LED: 7.6/10

BEST RESPONSE TIMES FOR GAMING (4K takes precedence in this table)

Samsung NU8000 LED: 1080p @ 60Hz: 18.1ms; 4k @ 60Hz + HDR: 18.4ms
LG SK9000/SK8500 LED: 1080p @ 60Hz: 15.7ms; 4K @ 60Hz + HDR (High Dynamic Range): 23.6ms
Sony X900F/F9005 LED: 1080p @ 60Hz: 40ms; 4K @ 60Hz + HDR: 24.2ms
LG C8 OLED: 1080p @ 60Hz: 21.1ms; 4K @ 60Hz + HDR: 29.4ms
Sony X850F LED: 1080p @ 60Hz: 27.9ms; 4K @ 60Hz + HDR: 30.1ms
Sony A1 OLED: 1080p @ 60Hz: 47.4ms; 4K @ 60Hz + HDR: 30.7ms

Also on the front page and will be updated as and when new sets are released and reviewed.

Ta!

Just gone through that. Can't figure out if OLED is better than LED? Is there a good place on the internet to get the low down?

They both have their positives and negatives. OLED has a better picture quality but it can be more expensive than LED, doesn't get as bright, and is prone to faster screen degradation - particularly with static images or on-screen graphics.

I say this every time KK links to that rtings site, but for whatever reason they don't include Panasonic TVs, which are usually also of a very high standard. Next month's FZ802/952 model looks very decent indeed, and will start at less than £2500 RRP (ie £1500 come Black Friday).

Poser wrote:Right, bit pissed off. This seems as good a place as any to ask for advice/input. I'll keep it as brief as possible.

I previously had all my inputs going into my amp, and then a single hdmi line to the TV. When i got new TV, I discovered that my amp didn't support HDR passthrough, so I started to use the ARC instead. Now all my stuff (PS4, Switch, Sky Q Box) go into the TV, and the audio is passed down an HDMI to the amp.

I've not really watched much serious stuff since I got the TV, though, so hadn't paid much attention to what the amp was doing.

Discovered whilst re-watching Rogue One that it was only giving me a Dolby Pro-Logic II output. Spent ages messing on with it, and couldn't get a Dolby True HD/DTS HD sound.

Only then did I find out that ARC doesn't support any true 5.1 signal. What a load of bullshit.

Thing is, the ARC is so simple to use - the amp just switches on, my wife doesn't have to mess on with changing inputs, etc.


tl;dr - I want to attempt to run my PS4 signal through a splitter, so it hits the amp and the TV simultaneously. I would use the ARC for most purposes, but switch to the direct HDMI feed when watching BluRays.

Anybody know if this would work?!

Can't advise on your specific proposed scenario, but do you have the option of using separate optical cables to carry the audio direct to the amp?

more heat than light wrote:I say this every time KK links to that rtings site, but for whatever reason they don't include Panasonic TVs, which are usually also of a very high standard. Next month's FZ802/952 model looks very decent indeed, and will start at less than £2500 RRP (ie £1500 come Black Friday).

Its because they are US site and Panasonic don't really have a presence on the US market with TVs.

I presume the model you mention is an OLED they are indeed good but I don't think worth the extra over what the LG OLEDs have been available for less (not at the moment but last years model went under £1400 a number of times).

A couple of years ago they had some really good LCD screens as well, but I don't think they replaced those models last year and they were therefore difficult to get hold of.

Another screen to look at if anyone is in the market for class leading LCD is the Sony ZD9, its only available in 65" and up and is also a couple of years old, but continues to be Sony's top of the range LCD screen. Had a look around and the 65" version appears to be available for £2500 from PRC Direct (and maybe John Lewis if you can get them to price match).

Yeah those are OLEDs, they do of course do cheaper LCD sets. The LG model you're talking about is last year's, 2018's B8 starts at the same price (£2499), and that's not even their top spec TV. Buying an older model is fine, but if you're spending that kind of money I'd want it to be supported for as long as possible.

more heat than light wrote:Yeah those are OLEDs, they do of course do cheaper LCD sets. The LG model you're talking about is last year's, 2018's B8 starts at the same price (£2499), and that's not even their top spec TV. Buying an older model is fine, but if you're spending that kind of money I'd want it to be supported for as long as possible.

Depends entirely on when you buy and what price you can get.

Last year there were initially similarly priced LG and Panasonic OLEDs and the LGs were in the end £100s cheaper, we'll have to wait 6 months or so to see what happens with that. The only chance of meeting the current budget at the moment is to buy what is essentially last years model (although they've literally only just been replaced, we aren't talking about TVs massively outdated here).

There haven't really been many (or any) reviews I've seen of the 2018 TVs yet either, personally if I needed a TV in the next few months, I'd save the money and go with a TV that is a known quantity, rather than one that hasn't been out there for a while to be tested.

All that aside, OLED might not be the way to go either. Its what I went with, but there are still questions about how long the TVs will perform to a reasonable standard and that effects all manufacturers of OLEDs.