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Is 4k at home worth it?

I have a Sony XBR65X930D and a Strato (and Samsung UHD BD player) and UHD movies are WAY better looking. Far more than just the extra pixels, you get greater color space and high dynamic range. It is definitely worth it.
John
 
IMHO the only person who can answer the "worth it" question is you.

I think if you really enjoy seeing an improvement then it really does look better. But, as the article points out- your mileage may vary.

My opinion is for most people in most situations are better off waiting for prices to come down and content to increase.

Here we are talking about a niche product in Kaleidescape and inside of the market for something like Kaleidescape I think you will find many who appreciate the improvement 4K brings.

I am waiting however. In my poking around, I've found the biggest improvement from both 4K and OLED. My primary viewing is done on a 75" LCD edge lit by LEDs. Not really the videophile choice but I have to tell you- the picture is excellent. Anyone who comes by says- wow, how come my tv doesn't look as good! (And its because they are stuck on the factory settings with the contrast and sharpness cranked, for starters). I saw a 65" OLED playing 4K from a Kaleidescape- and the improvement is noticeable. I remarked to the owner of the equipment: thanks for ruining me! But, I still think my 75" looks great and there are no OLED I am aware of yet in 75" size. The biggest place I think I would see an improvement is in my theater with a 14' wide 2.35:1 screen. However, 4K projector prices are not going to go higher, they are going to come down. And there really isn't much content. What's more, the HDR10 and Dolby Vision standards have just been adopted and its not really clear to me which one, or even if any one, will get wide adoption. I could be wrong but I've read many reports that say apparently the high dynamic range means a lower average brightness on many scenes so the image won't look quite as pleasing as one would hope.

A good friend who loves having the latest gadgets but isn't really into learning about them asked me if he should buy a new flat screen TV and my reply is: if you can hold off 12-24 months, I think you are going to be glad you did. BUT, if you just have to have it now, the 4K displays out there will definitely get you a very nice picture.

I'm waiting.
 
LG has a 77 in OLED panel in their signature line. It is pricey with an MSRP of $19,999 but has received numerous awards and according to my installer has an outstanding picture.

I currently have a 60 in Pioneer Elite plasma that I will probably replace in another year or two when there is more 4K content available from different sources. I would like a 75-80 in panel and OLED seems to be the best display technology on the market right now. Hopefully prices will continue to come down and a large OLED will become a bit more affordable in the near future.
 
Agreed to all of that. And I would point out the Sony ZD9- its a little less than ½ the price of the LG- and whilst not OLED, it has 600+ zones of local dimming and the summary of the reviews is not quite the black of OLED- BUT- its brighter and the picture is still excellent.
 
Jerry's comments are echoed by many of my friends, and while I cannot disagree with the logic, for me personally (it's always personal choice) I move to the newest technology as soon as it's available. I attribute that to my videophile preferences. We early adopters are required in order to get the new technologies some exposure in the marketplace, so it's probably a good thing there are nuts like me that buy into the latest and greatest.......

Is 4K "better" than 2K? Sure, when it comes to pure specs, but as already pointed out each individual's mileage may vary, and certainly screen size contributes to the overall perceived visual improvements. As already noted, there are other image improvement technologies coming along with 4K that also contribute to the perceived value of adding 4K to your viewing experience, and these should only improve going forward which is why some are waiting.

None of us in guaranteed a tomorrow....which is probably another reason I buy in early.:)


Jim
 
In addition to a Strato unit, I have the following 4K equipment as part of my setup:

Panasonic DMP-UB900 UHD Blu Ray player
Sony VPL-VW520ES 4K HDR Projector

I have to be honest and say that of the 4K discs I've sampled so far, I've been a tad disappointed with the 4K quality. 'The Martian' seemed quite subdued in its palette compared to the blu ray disc (which was brighter and more colourful) but perhaps that's what they mean by 'more natural looking' images. And 'Star Trek Into Darkness' switches back and forth between a full screen image and a letterboxed image. The full screen images are quite remarkable but the letterboxed sections seemed no better than blu ray standard. It made me wonder if it was a transfer of the imax print where only the imax sections were filmed in 4K. It's probably just early days at the moment, much like the introduction of blu ray.

That said, the projectors 3D images are very good. Nice and clear with no discernible distortion.

(btw, my screen is a 4' x 7' Stewart Firehawk if that's relevant!)
 
Thanks Jim, despite my comments, I keep trying to find reasons to upgrade to 4K- except I am really happy with my current displays- in my case- it just seems like I would be better served by waiting. So I'm waiting.......

Chaos, nice setup! I bet it is early days issues. Another reason why cold logic says I should wait -- BUT -- oh it seems so promising.... 4K is calling.... eekkk..
 
That's because you already have an incredible setup Jerry, and you can afford to wait.....you're younger than me!:D


Jim
 
Interesting site Kevin, thanks for the link!



Jim
 
LOL Jim! Its also your business so you can justify it. Its my hobby, I love it, but its hard to justify replacing perfectly good working equipment that still looks absolutely fantastic. But one day it will happen.

Excellent link Kevin. Thanks for that.

From the site re: The Martian: This is an odd one. Every frame/scene with CG is from a 2K master and any scene that is completely live action is from a 4K master. Half the movie is 'Fake 4K' and the other half is 'Real 4K'. You should see a noticeable improvement over a standard Blu-ray. Check the information below to see if the studios have upgraded the video with HDR or added immersive Dolby Atmos or DTS:X audio tracks.

http://realorfake4k.com/my-product/the-martian/
 
Interesting. Unfortunately I agree with the linked article. I'm not that confident on 4k blu ray.

Personally I love it. I have a similar set up to Chaos theory. A Sony VW520ES with the Panasonic DMP-UB900. However I can clearly see the difference and much prefer the 4k. But my screen is just shy of 12ft x 5ft.

I have a 60 inch 4k Samsung TV, and I'm not bothered whether it's blu ray or 4k or for that matter HD streaming.

My family don't care at all, and will often watch a movie on the big screen streaming on Amazon Instant Video rather than bothering to find the blu ray disc!

This is why I think 4k blu ray will remain niche. Streaming is the way forward, and unfortunately uncompressed streaming is along way off. Still I'm happy I can buy 4k blu ray and only wish it was as easy to buy or stream hi-res music!

Sent from my LG-H818 using Tapatalk
 
Yesterday, I went to my local dealer to find out for once and for all whether upgrading my system to 4K would be worthwhile. As a test, we used The Martian video in an A/B comparison of 4K vs. Blu-ray -- projected on a 135" screen as I have at home. The conclusion was very depressing for me because the 4K was, without question, demonstrably better. I cannot say whether the differences would be as noticeable on a 65" flat panel, but when the image is projected onto a screen as large as mine and a viewer is sitting in the front row, those extra pixels make a big difference. However, I am speaking of the quality of image only. I am less excited about HDR which I think has its weak points vis a vis Blu-ray. Specifically, I found skin tones could be off-color to a considerable degree. We also looked at Mad Max: Fury Road, and there the Blu-ray facial colors appeared much more realistic than the 4K/HDR ones, looked as if everyone was sun-burnt.

For me, conversion to 4K would be a huge investment as I would be ditching nearly $80K in my Runco projector, and I think due to the inconsistency in HDR at this point, I'll wait for a while before taking the plunge.
 
I think you would find HDR more compelling in a properly setup/calibrated projector that has enough lumens. Out-of-the-box, the HDR images were, as you noted, inconsistent between films on my Sony 5000, but all of that changed after calibration. The projector needs to be calibrated separately for both HDR and non-HDR content. I find the Lumagen Radiance Pro series is excellent for accomplishing this, and with some additional calibration functions upcoming from Lumagen, it will only get better.

HDR in projection is certainly more challenging to get "right" than in a flat panel, but it can be done.



Jim
 
Very interesting thoughts and insights. Thanks guys. We just got back from vacation where the hotel room had a 65" 4K Samsung TV. It was very nice but on regular HD at normal distances no one even noticed. I asked my wife and kids what they thought and they said our TVs at home look better: 4 year old edge lit LED LCD Samsung, they were the top of the line back then and I took some pains in calibrating them.

I think the extra res is a plus for large displays. I have spent a few days watching movies on my now 10 year old Runco 2.35 setup (fed by a Lumagen) and I have concluded I am still really happy with it and the money for a 4K projector could be better used elsewhere. But I fully expect to make the upgrade one day. In the mean time, technology will improve and hopefully prices will come down! :)
 
When you start with a system as nicely put together as yours Jerry, it's easy to be satisfied! Probably one of the things I've always admired about you, a guy that can actually get whatever he wants, is your ability to recognize the continuing value in what you already own.



Jim
 
Wow, thanks for the very kind words Jim. Its much appreciated. My best wishes for a happy New Year! I'm looking forward to the day 4K makes sense for me.
 
Happy New Year to you as well my friend!



Jim
 
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