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By the way, anybody who saw real 4k in action, is it really worth it? Or you'll need 120''+ TV to notice the difference?

gibybo 13y ago
I watched a demo setup for a Sony 4k TV. It was ~60" IIRC and the differences in scenes from a few movies were subtle but noticeable when I was standing about 4 feet away. The difference in text was pretty big though. I think everyone will have relatively large 4k displays eventually, but can't imagine paying 2-3x the cost (for now) for something that is only 60-70". I doubt you could tell the difference for movies/TVs unless they were side by side at that size (or you were sitting a only a few feet away). As a computer monitor though, it's a huge difference I think.
- timthorn 13y ago
  I've got to disagree - "only" 60-70" is massive for many properties. I might want a 50" screen just because, but it just won't fit in my house.
  - gibybo 13y ago
    30" used to be massive too, but TVs has steadily gotten bigger and now 30" seems absurdly small. TVs used to fit in 25" holes in entertainment centers, then in small nooks in walls and corners. They will continue to take up larger portions of walls and people will adapt to accommodate them. I'm sure there's a limit at some point, but I have a 160" (~13 feet) screen and have found room for it in every apartment and house that I've lived in (which is half a dozen or so).
jedberg 13y ago
I may be a bit biased since I work for Netflix, but I did notice a difference when we had the 4K and 1080p next to each other. What was really cool with the 4k is that I could get literally 2 inches from the screen and still not see the pixels. It still looked natural even at that distance.
- johnpowell 13y ago
  Do you find it worth it for the massive increase in bandwidth needed? The tracker I use haves 1080P rips that are around 10GB for a movie. Nobody ever really downloads that. The 720P versions are way more popular. They are good enough for people that don't buy gold HDMI cables.
  - emouse 13y ago
    People absolutely download the 1080p rips. 10GB is really not a lot with the bandwidth and storage available today in first world countries. You're certainly not getting into "videophile" territory when you can tell the difference between 720p and 1080p when viewed on a 1080p display.
  - izzydata 13y ago
    Quality 1080p video looks much better on a large 1080p TV. If you were watching on a 21" monitor then it probably wouldn't make a difference. 10gb isn't much of a deterrent considering I have 10tb of space. You can get 2tb drives for pretty cheap these days.
crwll 13y ago
I have a ~90" projector screen with a bit over 3 meters of viewing distance and I could definitely use larger resolution than 1080p. Also, many people have 120"+ screens (but my living room conditions don't currently allow for that). I don't really know why everyone assumes that a large screen must be a TV. Projectors are really inexpensive compared to large televisions and allow for a LOT larger image sizes. Brightness and lamp life problems are also largely a thing of the past. I have a three and half year old ~900€ full HD projector (Benq W1000+) and would not even consider going back to a (relatively) tiny and expensive TV.
- fest 13y ago
  I feel obligated to add that you really want a dark room for projector, and either opaque curtain or blinds. Viewing movies on projector is not that nice when the living room walls are bright and/or a lot of light comes into room from outside.
ZoFreX 13y ago
It looks great even on a 15" screen (you have to be quite close in that case obviously) and on a 40" screen it looks amazing. That said, if I was going to spend that amount of money on a TV I would prefer to get a 1080p screen where the deepest black is indistinguishable from the bezel, which works out about the same price.
hrrsn 13y ago
I've only seen it in the in-store demo, but it looked amazing on a 60".
Hates_ 13y ago
Every in-store demo I've watched has been very impressive, even on screens around the 50" size.
berberous 13y ago
The Sony store in NYC has 50"+ TVs running 4K, and honestly they look stunning. You easily notice the difference. I wasn't even there to look at TVs, but they catch your eye and you go "wow". That said, I feel no urge to upgrade given the huge costs, extremely limited content availability, and high bandwidth requirements, but I'm looking forward to it when in 5 years or so all that is hopefully a minimal issue.
dynofuz 13y ago
I have a 39inch $500 4k seiki tv and its wonderful, especially if you're a developer. It's the 'desktop' I've always wanted. And those 4k youtube trailers do look way better than normal 1080. Highly recommended. I wish netflix supported 4k on the computer.
phinnaeus 13y ago
I'm extremely pleased with my 24" UHD computer monitor. The difference is impossible to not notice.

gibybo 13y ago

I watched a demo setup for a Sony 4k TV. It was ~60" IIRC and the differences in scenes from a few movies were subtle but noticeable when I was standing about 4 feet away. The difference in text was pretty big though. I think everyone will have relatively large 4k displays eventually, but can't imagine paying 2-3x the cost (for now) for something that is only 60-70". I doubt you could tell the difference for movies/TVs unless they were side by side at that size (or you were sitting a only a few feet away). As a computer monitor though, it's a huge difference I think.

timthorn 13y ago
I've got to disagree - "only" 60-70" is massive for many properties. I might want a 50" screen just because, but it just won't fit in my house.
- gibybo 13y ago
  30" used to be massive too, but TVs has steadily gotten bigger and now 30" seems absurdly small. TVs used to fit in 25" holes in entertainment centers, then in small nooks in walls and corners. They will continue to take up larger portions of walls and people will adapt to accommodate them. I'm sure there's a limit at some point, but I have a 160" (~13 feet) screen and have found room for it in every apartment and house that I've lived in (which is half a dozen or so).

jedberg 13y ago

I may be a bit biased since I work for Netflix, but I did notice a difference when we had the 4K and 1080p next to each other. What was really cool with the 4k is that I could get literally 2 inches from the screen and still not see the pixels. It still looked natural even at that distance.

johnpowell 13y ago
Do you find it worth it for the massive increase in bandwidth needed? The tracker I use haves 1080P rips that are around 10GB for a movie. Nobody ever really downloads that. The 720P versions are way more popular. They are good enough for people that don't buy gold HDMI cables.
- emouse 13y ago
  People absolutely download the 1080p rips. 10GB is really not a lot with the bandwidth and storage available today in first world countries. You're certainly not getting into "videophile" territory when you can tell the difference between 720p and 1080p when viewed on a 1080p display.
- izzydata 13y ago
  Quality 1080p video looks much better on a large 1080p TV. If you were watching on a 21" monitor then it probably wouldn't make a difference. 10gb isn't much of a deterrent considering I have 10tb of space. You can get 2tb drives for pretty cheap these days.

crwll 13y ago

I have a ~90" projector screen with a bit over 3 meters of viewing distance and I could definitely use larger resolution than 1080p. Also, many people have 120"+ screens (but my living room conditions don't currently allow for that). I don't really know why everyone assumes that a large screen must be a TV. Projectors are really inexpensive compared to large televisions and allow for a LOT larger image sizes. Brightness and lamp life problems are also largely a thing of the past. I have a three and half year old ~900€ full HD projector (Benq W1000+) and would not even consider going back to a (relatively) tiny and expensive TV.

fest 13y ago
I feel obligated to add that you really want a dark room for projector, and either opaque curtain or blinds. Viewing movies on projector is not that nice when the living room walls are bright and/or a lot of light comes into room from outside.

ZoFreX 13y ago

It looks great even on a 15" screen (you have to be quite close in that case obviously) and on a 40" screen it looks amazing. That said, if I was going to spend that amount of money on a TV I would prefer to get a 1080p screen where the deepest black is indistinguishable from the bezel, which works out about the same price.

hrrsn 13y ago

I've only seen it in the in-store demo, but it looked amazing on a 60".

Hates_ 13y ago

Every in-store demo I've watched has been very impressive, even on screens around the 50" size.

berberous 13y ago

The Sony store in NYC has 50"+ TVs running 4K, and honestly they look stunning. You easily notice the difference. I wasn't even there to look at TVs, but they catch your eye and you go "wow". That said, I feel no urge to upgrade given the huge costs, extremely limited content availability, and high bandwidth requirements, but I'm looking forward to it when in 5 years or so all that is hopefully a minimal issue.

dynofuz 13y ago

I have a 39inch $500 4k seiki tv and its wonderful, especially if you're a developer. It's the 'desktop' I've always wanted. And those 4k youtube trailers do look way better than normal 1080. Highly recommended. I wish netflix supported 4k on the computer.

phinnaeus 13y ago

I'm extremely pleased with my 24" UHD computer monitor. The difference is impossible to not notice.